


I Want to Line the Pieces Up (Yours and Mine)

by BlackLabyrinth07



Category: RWBY
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bumbleby - Freeform, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Disney Multiverse, F/F, Fantasy, Give me all the Bees!, Keyblade Wielders (Kingdom Hearts), Kingdom Hearts AU, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, SOFT GAYS, Side Whiterose, Slow Burn, kind of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2019-10-28 19:24:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 70,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17793287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackLabyrinth07/pseuds/BlackLabyrinth07
Summary: Thrown into the mysteries of Kingdom Hearts, Team RWBY is charged with becoming the next Keyblade wielders in the war against the Heartless and their corrupt masters. Together Team RWBY must test the bonds of their friendships as well as themselves, while they travel across worlds, desperate to save their missing friends and Remnant from being lost to the darkness of the Heartless.





	1. A Scattered Dream

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone! This is my first attempt at a RWBY or a Kingdom Hearts AU, so please let me know what you think. This work is cross posted on FanFiction.net under the same name. While I do not have a regular update schedule, I shall do my best to update as much as possible. I might tweak the lore of the worlds of RWBY and Kingdom Hearts to best fit this story and the merging of worlds, but nothing too drastic will change that should affect your understanding or enjoyment of the work. So, when in doubt, just roll with it. This fic is canon compliant up to the end of Volume 2. Comments are always welcomed and much appreciated! Enjoy!

_"A scattered dream that's like a far-off memory. A far-off memory that's like a scattered dream. I want to line the pieces up - yours and mine."_

**\- Sora from Kingdom hearts II**

 

_"I've been having these weird thoughts lately…"_

Ruby was as weightless as she was eternal, drifting down into infant darkness with no end in sight. Why she was drifting further into the depths of the sea, she did not know. And yet Ruby felt at peace as she closed her eyes, drifting further away from the light. She released a breath she had forgotten she had been holding, only for her silver eyes to flash open blinding her and the world around her.

It took several seconds for the light to die down enough for Ruby to see again, the strain from her eyes and from strenuous use of her Aura was enough to make the young Huntress hesitate as the scene that greeted her was that of the shoreline of one of the beeches found around the island of Patch. Scanning the horizon against the setting sun, Ruby gasped as a flash of white broke the dark blue of the crashing waves.

Weiss stood in the shallows of the cove, as the water and gentle breeze from the ocean flowed around her. Her stark white dress and ivory hair danced in the wind as the Heiress titled her head towards her partner, a rare smile gracing her lips.

_"Like is any of this real…"_

Ruby shook her head in confusion, never remembering having taken Weiss to visit her childhood home in Patch. But as she continued to stare at her partner in uncertainty, the water around her feet receded as a large tidal wave appeared behind her partner, looming ever closer as it gained strength from the pull of the rushing tide. Ruby called out to Weiss, but the white haired beauty ignored her plea. Her ice-blue eyes seemed to sparkle in the light of the setting sun as Weiss turned to reach out with a delicate hand for the red-cloaked Huntress. Ruby ran towards her, but time around them seemed to slow to a crawl as the distance between the two girls shrank with each labored step. Ruby's fingertips grazed her partner's before the monstrous tidal wave crashed around them, pulling the younger girl away in a dizzying spin.

Righting herself in the water, Ruby grit her teeth as the salt water stung her eyes. She searched the water's depths desperately for the other girl, but she had nothing to fear. Weiss stood before her, seemingly unaffected by the water surrounding them as the Heiress continued to hold out her left hand in offering. Ruby ran in vain across the bottom of the ocean only to be pushed back by the swirling tide further into the water's depths and away from her smiling partner. Ruby's lungs screamed for release as she came to her senses and swam back to the surface. Ruby spluttered as she drew in deep gasps of air and shook her short choppy locks to rid them of the water.

Glancing around the shoreline for Weiss, Ruby was instead greeted by her cheerful sister waiting at the edge of the water. The tall older girl seemed to be laughing as she waved towards Ruby. A dark haired Faunus girl reached out with a tentative hand and placed in on the blonde's shoulder, making Yang smile down at the feline brunette before lilac eyes flickered back toward the younger Huntress stranded in the ocean's relentless waves.

Ruby smiled as she waved back at Yang and Blake before wading through the shallows, all of her attention now focused on her two teammates. Ruby leaned over and caught her breath before smiling up in greeting at her jovial sister and elusive partner. Before Ruby could speak, Blake's cat ears flickered forward as her amber eyes widened in shock as her attention was drawn to something behind her leader's head. Ruby turned around only to gasp in shock as streaks of light shot down across the fading sunlit-sky, the meteor shower blazing across the open heavens. The three young Huntresses gasped as one as a lone figure could be seen falling amongst the trails of light. Ruby narrowed her eyes as she took in the form of the person falling head first towards the open sea, only widening her eyes in shock upon realization that the lone figure was her.

_"… Or not?"_

Ruby was falling. The air whistling around her claimed her voice as she tried to shout for Yang and Blake, only to fall just out of reach. But instead of meeting the water below, she was falling in the sky. Day had become night, and as she flailed in the air, the shadows of the night consumed her on her inevitable journey into the unknown. Ruby twisted in the air in an attempt to control her fall as she tried to see what fate awaited her below, but she saw only darkness. Her crimson cloak and black combat skit flitted around her body in a dance against the wind as she rushed down into the unknown. She reached on her back for Crescent Rose, hoping to use the sniper function to slow her fall, as she had down countless times before in training over her last year and a half at Beacon, only to realize that her precious weapon was missing. In one last ditched effort, Ruby extended her hand before her into the sky, not know for who or what she reached for.

It was only then that her Huntress training kicked in. Using this sudden insight and her Semblance, Ruby spun into the air only to gasp down in horror as the sight of the vast ocean lay before her. Her senses took in the deceitfully beautiful sight before her; the ethereal glow of the broken fragments of Remnant's moon reflected off the sea of waves as black as ink, the color of the pools of Grimm she had read so much about. Her mouth tore open in a silent scream as her body fell into the cool embrace of the waves.

A rush of air bubbles clouded her vision as her body slowly righted itself in the water. Her silver eyes widened in awe as she realized her escape from death. The fractured moonlight gave her limbs an eerie glow as Ruby checked her body for harm, only to discover that she was untouched. Before she could truly marvel in her apparent immortality, pressure from the water around her dissolved as the darkness of the deep dissolved into shadows.

Looking around, the young Huntress took a tentative step forward, jumping back as light erupted from her footstep as the darkness under her transformed into a flock of black crows with beady red eyes that flew away in mass to reveal the surface of a glowing stained glass floor.

The colored glass mosaic lit up the area in its brilliance, so much so that it took several moments for Ruby's eyes to adjust to the light and take in the artfully crafted scene that lay before her feet. A pale woman with red-tipped hair in a snow white cloak leaned against a large weeping willow tree, its branches protecting the hunched form of the woman.

"Mom?"

Ruby's timid voice echoed around the dark abyss as Summer Rose lay before her feet captured in the colored glass, frozen in moment with her silver eyes glowing from the light below. A single wilting red rose rested between her slender fingers. Around Summer's bent head were circular stained glass panels depicting each of the other members of Team STRQ: Taiyang Xiao Long, Raven Branwen, and Qrow Branwen. Ruby's eyes lingered on the cracked panel with the depiction of Raven's smirk; the shattered colored glass made the woman's features almost indistinct. At the bottom of the stained glass panel near Summer's feet were four words that Ruby knew by heart as they had been the epitaph on her mother's tombstone.

"Thus Kindly, I Scatter… Such a bittersweet message, and yet the truth."

Ruby held back a scream as she scrambled backwards a few feet in shock as her attention was torn away from her mother's image by the disembodied voice that echoed around the empty chamber.

"What?! Who said that?" Ruby searched around the room frantically as she fell back into a fighting stance and instinctively reached for Crescent Rose only to find open air. "Who are you?"

The voice chuckled and as Ruby strained her ears she determined that the voice belonged to a young boy, not much older than she was. Before she could ask again the voice spoke again in a more soothing tone. "Soon Little Rose, I shall reunite you with your companions."

No sooner had the words been spoken then Yang appeared across the stained glass floor.

"Ruby?! Where are we? What's going on?" Yang's worried questions were cut off as Ruby used her semblance to race across the room and tackle her older sister, knocking the both of them to the ground in a heap of flailing limbs.

"Yang! I'm so glad you're here. I – I don't know what's going on." Ruby sprang to her feet and held out her hand, which Yang took gratefully to rise to her feet. The older girl brushed imaginary dust off her brown jacket and black compression shorts before noticing the glowing glass tiles below her feet. "Where are we? Have you seen Blake?"

"I'm right here. Although, now I'm not sure where here is…"

Ruby smiled as she heard the Faunus's drawling voice behind her. Yang quickly rushed over to her partner, taking notice of Blake's arms wrapped protectively over her midriff as she glanced around into the growing darkness. Although the girl was dressed in her usual Huntress combat outfit, Yang noticed with surprise that Blake's feline appendages were not covered by their usual bow, as the velvety soft ears flicked around on the top of her head amongst small tuffs of protruding hair. Yang smiled at the rare sight, but was saved from a reply as an articulate voice pierced the growing silence to their left.

"Ruby… Is that your mother?" Weiss stood off to the side, having appeared sometime during Blake's arrival only to walk over to the head of the woman depicted in the colored glass below, the soft light that emitted through the glass seemed to pulsate as the girls walked on its surface closer to the main image.

"Yeah, that's Summer Rose," Ruby took a deep breath as she looked at her namesake, noting the forlorn expression etched into the glass as the woman examined the wilting rose in her fingers. "Good ol' Mom."

Yang walked several paces to the right, just slightly behind Summer's head where the broken panels with the likeness of Raven lay shattered, yet the jagged pieces still left the floor intact. "Figures." The brawler scoffed at the panel as she toed the broken glass with her right boot.

Blake walked up to her partner and gently placed her hand into Yang's, giving the blonde a light squeeze. Yang's face softened as she glanced down at her partner. "I'm alright, Blake."

"I don't mean to be rude…" Weiss spoke, but she was cut off before she could continue by a snarky voice to her left.

"And yet here you are."

"Shut up, Blake." Weiss lifted her chin and crossed her arms in defiance. "Where the in Hell are we? And would someone mind telling me what we are doing here?"

"Ahh…" Ruby held up one finger before slowly lowering it. "I'm not sure… But he does!" Ruby smiled cheerily as she made a sweeping gesture with her left hand towards the darkness that surrounded them.

Weiss arched her left eyebrow, making the scar tissue appear white in the low-lit glow of the chamber, as the scar stretched taunt from the sarcastic movement. "Who's he, Ruby? It's just us here, you dolt."

Not a second had passed since the Heiress' biting remark then the young voice from earlier answered the young leader's call.

"Do not be afraid."

Which of course had the opposite effect on most of the members of Team RWBY. Not expecting a disembodied voice of a boy to answer their leader, the other girls jumped and crouched into their various battle stances only to find that they too were without their weapons.

"Him!" Ruby smiled as she pointed up in the air at nothing in particular.

Yang stepped forward, her lilac eyes narrowing in challenge as she stared into the dark abyss. "Who are you and why are we here?"

"I was the one chosen who came before you," The voice answered cryptically. "There is a war coming. One you all need to be prepared for properly. The Kingdom Hearts has chosen you, like it did countless others at the start of time."

"Well then… That answered none of my questions." Yang replied sarcastically as she popped a hip and crossed her arms, matching the Heiress' stance in annoyance.

Weiss sighed deeply as she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Well I for one would like to know where we are exactly."

"Patience, Weiss Schnee." The voice chastised, making the girls jump at the sudden intrusion.

"How do you know me?" Weiss took a step back, clearly upset at being named so freely.

"I know all of you: Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long… But how is not of your concern. You have been chosen for a very specific task, and should you chose to accept, the fate of the worlds depend on you.

"I'm sorry, did you say worlds, as in plural?" Blake asked incredulously.

"Yes. The worlds of this universe and the next are being consumed by darkness." The boy stated calmly.

"Darkness… Do you mean the Grimm?" Ruby asked, only feeling slightly ridiculous talking to someone that could not be seen, only heard.

"Not the Grimm exactly, although these creatures of darkness seem to have a similar purpose as your soulless Grimm."

Blake stepped forward so that she was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with her young leader. "I still don't understand. Why us and why come to us now?"

"You four have been chosen as the next wielders of light. You shall hold the keys to lock out the darkness and secure the light, bringing balance into the worlds once again. So I ask this of you all, young warriors, do you accept?"

Ruby looked around, catching the eyes of all of her teammates. "If we do this, we do this as a team. Together, and it sounds like there is no going back." Ruby sighed as she looked down onto the likeness of her mother. "But it looks like they need our help and it's our jobs as Huntresses to help all who need it." She looked up at her teammates with a determined glint to her striking silver eyes. "So I'm going to accept and I hope you will all join me."

Yang took a moment to think before stepping forward to lay her right arm across the shoulders of her younger sister. "If my baby sister wants to help, then you know I'm in." Yang used her other hand to rub her knuckles into the Ruby's red-tipped hair, messing up the already disheveled locks as the younger girl yelled in protest.

Blake smiled as she watched the two sisters play-fight, forgetting for a moment of the weight of the decision she was about to make. But as she stared at her friends before her, was there ever really a choice to have been made? "Fine. I'm in."

Yang let go of their leader to beam at her partner before punching the air in victory. "Yes! Bumbleby is in it for the fight." Ruby chuckled at their team attack nickname before nodded her thanks before turning to her own partner, noticing the Heiress' face as one of contemplation as she stared out onto the beautiful glass mosaic.

"Weiss…" Ruby started, but before she could pester her, the white haired Huntress simply shook her head before nodding towards her friend.

"Where you go – I go. You know that, Ruby."

"Thanks, Weiss." Ruby jumped the space between them and grabbed the petite girl, shaking her roughly as she yelled into her ear in excitement. "See! You are my BFF!"

"Not even close," Weiss snorted, but she couldn't keep a small smile from gracing her lips from her partner's antics.

"Have you made your decisions?" The voice asked, making Team RWBY all glance towards their leader, each nodding their consent.

Ruby smiled at them all in determination before giving her answer. "Yes, we have. We accept your proposal."

"Excellent. Now, come closer to the center of the mosaic."

The four girls walked towards the center of the circular floor, going so far as to stand in order out of habit. Each member had to hold back their shock as four different items materialized in the four cardinal points around them, each item shone in a soft spotlight while hovering on a carved stoned pedestal.

"Power sleeps within you. If you give it form…"

Team RWBY looked around in wonder and apprehension as each item seemed to call to them. Weiss watched Blake's feline ears flicker back and forth, and for a moment, Weiss wondered if the girl could actually hear the voices that seemed to whisper to them from around the room.

"It will give you strength… Choose wisely."

They said nothing, each girl taking in the strange sight before them, the soft, but insistent whispers heard by all four Huntresses as their gaze traveled over each item. It was Yang who finally broke the tense silence.

"What's with all the theatrics?" Yang asked as she moved closer to the pedestal with the floating sword.

"Choose wisely." The voice only repeated again.

Yang seemed to hesitate for second before she grasped the blue and grey crossed-leather grip. The blade, while simple in appearance with a golden cross guard with a simple black insignia in the pummel, was perfectly balanced, and with a quick feel of the edge with her left thumb, revealed the steel blade was razor sharp.

The moment Yang touched the leather grip of the blade, a hundred voices entered her head speaking the same three lines as if they were the one who had called to her.

_The power of the warrior._

_Invincible courage._

_A sword of terrible destruction._

Yang glanced around at the rest of team and noticed by the looks on their faces that they had heard the same passage, although the brawler was sure that hers was the loudest retelling of the tale.

"Is this the power you seek?" The voice asked.

Yang adjusted her grip on the weapon, noticing how the handle perfectly fit her hand. Warmth traveled up her arm as she swung the blade in a few test swings. The sword felt as if it was made for her.

"Yes." Yang smiled as she accepted her choice. As soon as she chose the blade, the sword vanished with a flash of light, leaving only three other items before them. As soon as the weapon disappeared, Yang's eyes flashed red as she felt strength and adrenaline enter her body as if her Semblance had been charged by a wave of physical attacks.

"Yang! Now we don't get that choice." Weiss shifted her weight in annoyance as she shot the blonde a glare. The brawler blinked back her eyes until they returned to their normal lilac color. Once she had physically calmed down, Yang had the modesty to look sheepish before she shrugged.

"I'm sorry, Weiss. I don't know how to explain it, but I felt like it called to me." Yang shrugged again as she gestured to the now empty pedestal to in front of them.

"I – I think I understand, Yang." Blake spoke softly as she left the group to stand directly in front of a large kite-shaped shield. The field was black with a golden insignia that had matched the sword; one large black circle with two smaller ones protruding on either side of the top. To an untrained eye, they almost looked like ears, although Blake highly doubt that was why the red trimmed shield seem to call to her. The closer she stepped to the shield, the louder the whispers became until she fit her left arm into the attached red leather straps. As soon as she tightened the straps into place, the whispers of a hundred voices became as clear as if spoken by one.

_The power of the guardian._

_Kindness to aid friends._

_A shield to repel all._

"Is this the power you seek?" The voice asked to the young Faunus.

Blake nodded her head and had to clear her throat before she answered, "Yes."

In a flash of light the shield was gone. Blake felt a fierce wave of protectiveness and courage overcome her, her hands tightening into fits at their newfound resolve.

Ruby and Weiss looked at each other before the younger girl gave an over-exaggerated bow towards the Heiress.

"After you, Princess." Ruby smirked as her partner rolled her eyes.

"A princess? How fitting…" The voice spoke catching the attention of the Huntresses.

"It's heiress actually." Weiss sniffed and raised her head high as she walked gracefully over to the last two options located behind the group and to their left. One held a staff and the other an old book.

 _'They say knowledge is power after all,'_ Weiss thought to herself as she looked over her options. _'Besides, I was always good at my studies. The book would be best for me in the long run. I have a better chance at learning more about this place with it.'_

Nodding once to herself, Weiss made her way towards the book, but with every step she took towards the old tome, the whispers that she heard throughout the room seemed to fade. Weiss frowned before coming to a halt in front of the old book. She stood their unmoving for almost a minute, trying to will the book to call to her as the other items had done for her beloved teammates. But the book remained just that – an old book.

"Weiss… Is everything okay?"

Weiss had to bite back a laugh as heard Ruby's concerned voice. Of course, she would be visibly rejected in front of her most trusted friends… Some of her only friends, to be honest. She felt her fist tighten in response, but willed herself to keep on her mask of indifference as she turned away from the old book and walked slowly towards the staff.

"Yes, Ruby I'm fine." Weiss chanced a glance at her partner, but regretted her choice of actions right away as she could see that her partner did not believe what she had said.

Ruby's worrying only increasing as the Heiress put on a fake smile. One Ruby had only seen Weiss wear when she was hurting or uncomfortable. Before the young leader could call her partner out on this behavior, Weiss had already stepped before the floating staff.

It had appeared that Weiss was making the right choice as the voices in her head became so clear and loud, she was beginning to grind her teeth in annoyance. The staff's tip was the same circular design on the shield and sword, only a bright blue that matched her eyes. The staff's body was green with brown and gold highlights. There was nothing flashy about the weapon that stood out to the Heiress, nor did its length seem very practical for physical combat. But then again, most things are more then what they appear, so after a moment's hesitation, Weiss stretched out her left hand and pulled the staff from the pedestal. The polished wood under her fingertips seemed to radiate warmth as electrical currents ran down her hand and into her arm.

_The power of the mystic._

_Inner strength._

_A staff of wonder and ruin._

"But… there's no such thing as magic." Weiss let out in a horse whisper as the magic staff seemed to pulsate in her hand as sparks of light traveled the length of the staff.

"Is this the power you seek?" The boy asked, his voice cutting through the murmured whispers that kept reciting the same three lines in her head.

The middle line stood out the Weiss in the end: _'Inner strength.'_

"Yes," Weiss replied in surprise at her own acceptance of weapon choice, but she had to trust her instincts, of which were right now telling her that she had made the right choice for her. No sooner had the word left her mouth then the staff disappeared, but as it did the power she had felt from the staff seem to radiate from inside her. Weiss smiled as a hand reached up to touch her pounding chest, as each pump of her heart sent another bolt of electrifying current through her body.

Ruby let out a long whistle as she observed her teammates pick their weapons. She felt herself rock back and forth on her heels as she waited for her turn and now that there was only one choice left, she used her Semblance to speed up to the last item. The book's cover looked worn with time, although the three circles insignia was still easily identifiable on the cover. She reached out for the book without hesitation, barely giving thought to the loud hum of voices that had become one the moment she had picked up the text.

_The power of the strategist._

_The necessity of sacrifice._

_A tome full of secrets._

"Is this the power you seek?"

"Yes!" Ruby smiled as she replied in earnest. As soon as the book disappeared Ruby felt the smile slip from her face as she was hit with a deep uneasiness that coldly gripped at her heart. Ruby placed both hands on her chest as she felt a deep ache settle in her heart. As suddenly as it hit her, Ruby's mouth slipped open in a gasp as she felt an overwhelming sense of calm flood through her system, slowing down her frantically beating heart.

"Ruby?!"

It was like the volume had been turn back up in her ears, as Ruby turned to find Yang had rushed to side, and judging by the worried look on her face, her sister had probably been calling her name for several seconds now.

"I… I'm fine, Yang. I just wasn't expecting… _that_." Ruby leaned over with her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. She felt as if she had run a marathon in less than a minute while simultaneously been forced to age up by several years. The voice spoke again, catching the attention of the entire group, although Ruby admittedly let her attention slip for a second as she tried to gasp for more air, trying to shake off the feeling of unease that seemed to cling to her bones.

"Your path is set. Now what will you give up in exchange?"

"What?" Yang let go of her sister to glare around at the empty chamber, barely noticing how the four original items had returned to their positions on the pedestals around the room. "You never said anything about giving up something."

Weiss sighed as she walked up to the sword. "Life is not without its sacrifices, right Ruby?" Weiss asked as she grasped onto the handle of the sword which disappeared on contact.

Ruby nodded as she watched the Heiress calmly walk back to her side before speaking again.

"Besides, we'll all be there for each other. We can cover each other's weakness, if needed."

"Weiss is right. We have each other's backs. Just pick whatever you feel most comfortable with giving up." Ruby had walked up to the staff during her speech and upon the end, she had touched the polished wood so that it shimmered in a flash of light before vanishing once more.

Nodding in unison, Yang walked up to the shield while Blake approached the book. Together they touched their respective items, which vanished into the air upon contact.

With all the pedestals empty, the four stone pillars disappeared leaving only the girls behind on the glass mosaic.

"So… That was a thing," Yang stated as she stretched her right arm over her shoulder. "Now what?"

As soon as the words were spoken, an intricately carved door appeared by the top of the stained glass mosaic, resting just above where Taiyang's head was placed.

"I guess we need to go through that." Ruby stated as Weiss rolled her eyes at the girl's obvious remark.

"Maybe it's an exit?" Yang asked.

"Knowing about what's happened thus far, I highly doubt it." Blake remarked she crept closer to the door, her curiosity getting the better of her as her hand hovered only inches away from one ornately carved handle. Before the girl's hand had touched the handle, the door opened on its own accord, blinding the Huntresses with light from within. As if a moth drawn to a flame, all four girls walked through the open door only to find themselves in a familiar courtyard.

"Hold on. The door won't open just yet." The voice stated as the members of Team RWBY took in their new surroundings. They had somehow been transported into the inner courtyard of Beacon Academy. The proud statue of the Hunter and Huntress fighting the Grimm stood several yards away before the grand entrance to the combat school. But before they could move, four familiar people appeared in front of each member of the team.

"Jaune?! What are you doing here?" Ruby exclaimed in shock as her blonde friend smiled at the younger Huntress, although he made no attempt to respond to the girl's joyful greeting.

Weiss waved a hand in front of Pyrrah's smiling face, the redhead's eyes never breaking from their stare.

"I don't think they are really here, Ruby. At least, not like you or I." Weiss stated as she glanced over at her overeager partner before lowering her hand back to her side.

"Oh, right of course not." Ruby seemed to visibly deflate as she noticed that all the members of Team JNPR seemed to be in the same frozen state. "Then why are we here with them?"

Before anyone could answer her, Nora began to question the girl directly opposite her, which in this case, happened to be Yang.

"What is most important to you?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Yang asked as she placed her arms on her sides and cocked a hip. "Why?"

Nora only smiled and repeated her question. "What is most important to you?"

"My friends and family." Yang's reply was almost instantaneous.

Without missing a beat Nora nodded and then followed up with another question. "How will you protect them, if you can't save yourself?"

Yang looked visibly shaken as she took a step back. "I-I don't understand…"

But before either girl could respond, Ren had taken it upon himself to address Blake with his question for all to hear. "What are you afraid of?"

Blake's cat ears visibly flatten against her head and she gripped her arms across her chest. When she replied her voice shook. "… Failing my friends."

Ren's response was prompt. "If you do not fail, then how can you learn?"

Blake opened and closed her mouth in thought, before she frowned, her feline ears swiveled to flatten against her head.

Without waiting for a reply, Pyrrha turned to face Weiss.

"What do you want out of life?"

Weiss blinked in confusion for a second before her lips pressed into a hard line. "My freedom."

Pyrrha tilted her head to the side in slight confusion. "If faced with the chance for true freedom, would you have the courage to seek it, no matter the cost to obtain it?"

Jaune turned to face Ruby, ignoring the affronted Heiress to turn a shade of bright red, before asking his question. "What do feel like you are meant to be?"

Ruby paused as she brought a hand up to her chin in thought. "Well, I'm leader of Team RWBY and I want to be a Huntress. So a leader, I guess?" Ruby shrugged, not all confident in her answer.

Jaune's smile fell slightly at the uncertainty of her answer before replying, "That is what the world asks of you, but who are you really beyond your silver eyes?"

"I – I don't know." Ruby stated quietly as she cast her eyes down at her shuffling feet.

Ruby took a deep breath and looked up to reply more earnestly, only to find that Team JNPR had vanished. Ruby heard her teammates shift into offensive attack positions as the world around them began to crumble and shake around them. Within seconds of their friends' disappearance, the towers of Beacon fell and the ground with it, causing all the girls to scream as they fell down into the dark abyss of the unknown once more.

Ruby heard the sounds of several people groaning before she rolled to her side to find that Weiss was standing over her, offering her a hand to get up, which Ruby took after a few moments to get her bearings. With a sudden sigh, Ruby noticed that they had fallen back onto the stained glass mosaic of her mother.

Team RWBY was alone once more.

"How did we end up back here?" Ruby asked as she rubbed a sizable lump that was forming on her head. She must have landed face first on the glass floor.

"Bad landing strategy," Ruby groaned as she tenderly touched her sore head.

Weiss poked her in the side, causing the younger girl to double over in giggles. "After everything we have experienced tonight, that's what you are asking?"

"Hey! Leave her alone, Ice Queen." Yang yelled as she helped her partner off the ground. "How's the head, sis?"

"Tender. Which is odd since it didn't hurt the first time." Ruby frown as she looked at her teammates confused faces.

"Care to share, Ruby?" Blake asked, one of her ears twitching in annoyance as she rubbed a hurt elbow from her fall.

"The first time I fell down here." Ruby continued to explain while pointing to the floor.

"What do you mean by that?" Weiss asked, her eyes widening in surprise. "You didn't just appear here like everyone else?"

Ruby shook her head, the movement making her dizzy. "No, I was having this weird dream where I was with you, but then a wave hit me and I found myself with Blake and Yang. But then I was falling again and landed here, but I landed on my feet that time. So why is now different?"

Weiss continued to stare at her in growing concern.

"Or at least, I think it was a dream… Or maybe this is a dream. But I thought you can't get hurt in a dream?" Ruby asked as she looked to her partner for answers. But the white haired girl seemed at a loss for words. They stood there, just staring into each other's eyes hoping to find answers to this mess they were in and exactly what they had gotten themselves into.

"Either way, I hate to break up whatever moment you two are having, but the door is back and I think we should try to get thought it again before it disappears on us!"

Yang's yell broke both girls out of their trance as they turned around to find that the same door from before was standing upright only a few yards away from their current position.

Weiss cleared her throat and looked away. "Yang's right we need to try to get out of here so we can figure all of this out later."

Ruby nodded. "Alright Team RWBY, let's try this one last time. But be on your guard. I have a feeling this isn't over yet."

Together the Huntresses slowly made their way over to the lone doorway. It was only when Ruby stood right before the door that it opened once more and spilled its blinding light onto the girls, so much so that they had to shield their eyes. Just as Ruby went to pull the door's handle open all the way, she turned to look back out at the darkness behind them.

Yang noticed her sister's hesitance. "What's wrong, Rubes?"

Ruby starred out into the darkness, narrowing her eyes against the light behind her to look for shapes in the growing darkness beyond her mother's mosaic. "It feels like something's missing."

One of Blake's cat ears flickered in response. "I can feel it too. There's this energy, or rather, it seems like something is missing. My Aura is going crazy trying to feel for something that's not there."

"You're right." It was the voice of the boy again.

Weiss frowned, having hoped she had heard the last of that boy's voice again. She was tired of being bossed around like a pawn by some unknown chess master. Besides, the young voice always seemed to be followed by trouble.

He spoke again once he had captured their attention. "But the challenge you would face is not one you would do as a team, but as an individual. It seems that the Kingdom Hearts has deemed you worthy without it… At least, for now."

"That's reassuring…" Weiss stated with a frown.

"We'll handle that challenge later when it comes. Until then, let's head out everyone." Ruby ordered as she slowly forced her way through the doorway and into the blinding light that lay before her, followed by the rest of her teammates.

When Ruby opened her eyes again, it was only to shut them again as the blinding light streamed directly into her face and across her pillow.

_'Wait what?!'_

Scrambling to her feet, Ruby jolted awake as she hit her head on the ceiling with a loud _'CRACK'!_ The room spun around her as she fell backwards onto her bunk bed, clamping her mouth shut against the wave of nausea that afflicted her from her head injury until her aura would kick in fully to heal the possible concussion. Ruby try to sit up, only to roll over again as the world seem to shift on its axis.

Make that a definite concussion.

"You dolt! What do you think you are doing?! You could have collapsed your bed on top of me!"

"Less yelling and more sleeping, Weiss." Ruby groaned as she used her pillow to cover her ears from the Heiress' yelling which was causing her throbbing headache to reach an overwhelming state.

"What's going on? Ruby, are you alright?"

Ruby cracked open one eyelid to meet the concerned gaze of her sister from across the room, the girl's bunkmate down below also having woken up from the loud commotion.

"Go back to bed, Yang. And I'm sorry for waking all of you. I just had a weird dream and when I woke up, I slammed my head on the ceiling. I'm okay, really." Ruby gingerly touched her head, already feeling her aura calming down the swelling. She glanced up at the ceiling, wincing as she noticed the sizable dent her cranium had left in its wake. "Although not so much can be said for my ceiling." She patted the dent gingerly in her half-concussed state.

"If it helps, I had an odd dream too." Blake announced as she tucked her slender legs back under her covers before rolling away from her teammates to face the blank wall.

"Oh yeah, Blakey? What was yours about because let me tell you, mine was like I was on some bad trip, if you know what I mean." Yang said as she winked at the disgruntled Heiress from across the room.

"No, we do not all know what you mean, Yang. Not all of us are thrill-seeking party girls." Weiss proclaimed as she fixed her night gown before laying down to turn off the bedside light that she had first turned on when the bunk bed had shift precariously overhead.

Yang stuck out her tongue. "You're just jealous because I'm living my best, free life!"

Weiss looked visibly shocked. "What – what did you just say?"

Ruby rolled over, ignoring the growing throbbing in her temples, to give her sister a hard stare.

"Yang, leave Weiss alone. It's too early for this. Blake, what time do we need to be at the arena tomorrow morning?"

"Eight O' Clock, sharp!" Blake's remark was slightly muffled by her pillow as she had already snuggled down further into her covers over the last few minutes.

"Exactly! Which means we have exactly…" Ruby peered over to her bedside shelf to read the time on her glowing scroll. "Roughly five hours until we need to be up and ready to fight in the first round of the Vytal Festival. Since we're starting the team rounds, we need to all get back to bed and get as much sleep as possible before then. Good night, Team RWBY!"

"Way ahead of you," Blake replied before curling up into a ball under her sheets.

"Nighty-night, Sis!" Yang exclaimed through a yawn.

Night settled down for the four girls as each one of them drifted off into a dreamless slumber. As they would awaken the next day, their memories of the night before would fade to become a sense of unease, but their dream was nothing more than a scattered memory, just out of reach for the coming days to follow.


	2. Beginning of the End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good evening everyone! As I was writing out this next chapter, I realized that this thing would have been close to 40 pages and growing with each new part. And while I am all for long chapters, this behemoth needed to be broken up into smaller chapters, so that one mega chapter is looking more like four smaller chapters. The good news is that I have most of it already written out, so once I get it back from my Beta I can post it all. Until then, I wanted to give a shout out to my wonderful Beta, Mysteriesofthislife, without whom none of this would be possible. Also a big thank you to all that read this fic and left comments, I love hearing from all of feel free to leave a comment or hit me up on my tumblr under the same name that I have on here, with your thoughts. And now, without further adieu, enjoy!

Winter shifted from one polished boot to another as she waited in the short elevator ride up the Headmaster's office at Beacon. It was just her luck that as she was going to land a devastating strike against that dirty old Qrow, General Ironwood had intervened on her behalf as Winter's superior and had stopped the street spectacle.

The eldest Schnee daughter crossed her arms behind her back and straightened her posture, trying to ignore a muscle twitch in her left eyebrow – the only physical tell of her annoyance as she rode the elevator in silence with General Ironwood. It was within a few seconds that they arrived at the top of the tower where the doors opened with the soft sound of a chime to announce their arrival into Ozpin's office. However, as they stepped out into circular chamber, the Atlesians found that the hallow halls were without its master.

General Ironwood calmly made his way to the center of the room, while Winter brought up the rear, only for the young woman to pace back and forth as they both waited for their host. A few seconds passed before the gentle hum of the elevator in motion could be heard over the monotonous churning of the large cog wheels above them, which powered Beacon's iconic clock tower. The soft chime announcing the arrival of the elevator stopped Winter in her aggressive pacing, so that as she spun to face the opening doors, her boots clicked together while her fists clenched to their sides at the sight of a smirking Qrow accompanied by Glynda Goodwitch and Professor Ozpin.

"What were you thinking?!" Winter yelled as she had to physical stop herself from drawing her weapon once more. She could barely hold back her frustration as her trademark light blue eyes met the red beady stare of her smirking aggressor. Winter would gladly be reassigned to latrine duty for a month for the chance to punch that drunken smirk off the disheveled man's face, and had the General not intervened during their fight earlier, Winter might have had the pleasure. It was the sound of her superior officer that regained her attention from a daydream of her fist glancing off the Huntsman's unshaven jaw line.

"If you were one of my men, I would have you shot!" The General's voice was stern as if berating a misbehaving child.

The Huntsman in question seemed unperturbed by Ironwood's scolding as the warn down Huntsman reached into his jacket to pull out a flask and wave it towards the military leader. "If I was one of your men, I'd shoot myself." Qrow grumbled as he sloshed the alcohol in his flask to take a measure of its level before unscrewing the silver top of flask.

Goodwitch turned away from the complaining Huntsman to sternly address the other perpetrator in the fight on the school's grounds minutes earlier. "While I wouldn't condone his behavior, retaliating like you did certainly didn't help the situation."

Winter's eyes widened in exasperation at Goodwitch's comment as she angrily gestured to the hunched man who had leaned back against a pillar in the spacious room. "He was drunk!"

"He's always drunk!" Goodwitch shot back, her eyes rolling in vexation before both women glanced back at the intoxicated Huntsman. Their eyes narrowed in frustration as the man in question tipped his flask back into his mouth with abandon. It was only when Qrow realized the conversation had halted, and all eyes had turned on him, that the Huntsman slowly lowered his flask with an awkward grimace.

Ozpin sighed before sitting down at his desk. "Qrow, why are you here?"

Before the Huntsman could respond, he was cut off by the General. "You've been out of contact for weeks! You can't just go dark like that in the field!"

Qrow's grimace grew into a sneer. "I'm not one of your special operatives, _Jimmy!_ "

" _General_." Winter corrected Qrow automatically, her teeth grinding in annoyance.

"Whatever." Qrow rolled his eyes before replacing his flask back in the hidden pocket inside his jacket. "You sent me to get Intel on our enemy, and I'm telling you, our enemy is here."

Ironwood seemed unaffected by this information as he causally leaned back against Ozpin's desk before narrowing his eyes in seriousness. "We know."

Qrow shot up from his leaned position to point a finger at the unconcerned Atlesian. "Oh! Oh, you know! Well, thank goodness I'm out there risking my life to keep you all informed!"

The General sighed deeply while pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Qrow –"

Qrow cut him off by whipping out his scroll and shoving it in Ironwood's face. The older man held his ground as the angered Huntsman entered his personal space. "Communication's a two-way street, pal. You see this?" Qrow pointed to a small green arrow on the open communications screen. "That's the send button!"

Winter took a step closer to the two men, succeeding in gaining their attention. She directed her comment toward her chosen adversary. "They had reason to assume you'd been compromised."

"And I have reason to assume you don't need to be here", Qrow replied in kind before gesturing with his thumb over at the affronted Schnee. "Seriously, why are you here?"

"I'm only here for as long as the General is in town… So as of now, I am posted here for the remainder of the Vytal Tournament." Winter replied rapidly, her arms crossing behind her in perfect form. Even when she was technically off duty, Winter always made sure to remain the picture of a perfect soldier. She only let her hair down, so to speak, when she was sure she was alone with her sister for some much needed bonding time.

Winter felt a twinge of regret fill her heart as she knew it had been well over a year since she had last been able to truly speak with Weiss. Perhaps given the close proximity, Winter could take some time from her busy schedule to teach Weiss the finer points about being a Grimm summoner. It was a valuable tool for any Schnee Huntress to have, but it would surely become more useful in the next few rounds of the tournament.

If Winter's memory served her right from Weiss' latest letter, the young Huntress had so far been successful with summoning some of the smaller forms of Grimm, such as a Boarbatusk and a small Beowolf. Although anything larger then that was still out of the girl's reach, and since the young Huntress had killed a great many Grimm since her time at Beacon, Winter knew Weiss had the potential to summon more powerful Grimm to her aid; and if pushed correctly, an Arma Gigas from Father's latest test for Weiss back at the Schnee manor. Winter made a mental note to find the younger Schnee heiress after she was dismissed from this meeting to start Weiss' training. The white haired woman was broken out of her thoughts as Qrow took a step towards her. The smell of whiskey washed over her as Qrow leaned close to her face to glare at her presence.

Qrow frowned at Winter's pervious statement. "No, Ice Queen. I mean what are you doing here, as in this room with us? Who invited you here?"

Winter opened her mouth in an angry retort.

"Enough of this," Opzin's voice broke through the growing tension in the room. "Glynda, what is the status of the tournament thus far? Do you have the video files I wanted yet?"

"So far Beacon is in the lead in team fights as well as duo battles, with Atlas in second, followed shortly by Shade and Haven respectively." The Huntress pressed several buttons on her display screen before pulling up footage from the battle arena within the Amity Colosseum that had been taken earlier that day. "Here's the footage from the match between Team QRTZ from Shade and Team HART from outside the academies as requested," Gylnda stated as she pulled out her scroll and placed it on the transparent desk before them so that the video file saved on the scroll was projected up on a hologram.

"Outside the academies…Why are they here?" Qrow asked in confusion while he looked over at the Schnee solider who shrugged.

"And who are they?" For once Winter agreed with Qrow in his confusion. It was unheard of for people acting from outside one of the four Huntsman academies to be allowed to participate in the Vytal festival. For four young warriors to compete in combat, and judging by the video, to win such a match was more than unusual – if not a major cause for concern for the other competitors. Team HART might not have been trained at an Academy, but they were a force to be reckoned with.

"Perhaps I can help answer part of your questions." Goodwitch addressed calmly as she touched a few buttons on the glass panel to switch the video projection of the match to a long registration list, to which was narrowed down to the 'Non-Academy Representatives' section, or the N.A.R.

Winter's eyes quickly scanned the short list, her gaze flickering over places such as Anima and Menagerie that were listed among the registered teams' various locations.

"In an effort to increase attendance for the tournament, as per the request of our sponsors from around the world, there were some small changes to the usual rules. For example, for the first time in the tournament's history, we have opened this year's Vytal festival to anyone who wished to participate in the trails. The only requirements listed were that each team must consist of four members between the ages of 15-25 and that they must all complete a qualifying exam that was put on by Beacon's very own staff. So far the added recruitment has gone well, although not many of these N.A.R. teams have made it passed the opening team rounds." Goodwitch zoomed in on the battle footage from the Team QRTZ vs. Team HART match. "However, it seems this 'Team HART' passed the first round with flying colors. It seems that they are a fan favorite of the N.A.R. teams represented today."

Ozpin walked around his desk to view the projected video from the front, observing the four young warriors as they continued in their match in the Amity Colosseum, against the Shade Huntsmen in training. His dark brown eyes scanned the footage with intense interest, taking in their unusual fighting styles and clothing choice. Ozpin's grip on his cane hardened as his eyes narrowed in on their choice of weapons. For a moment he allowed the images on the screen to process as he closed his eyes in thought. Ozpin half-hopped he was mistaken as he observed the young warriors' weaponry; each member wielded a stylized version of a large key.

"What are they doing here?" Ozpin's question seemed to be directed to no one in particular as he took over the video's controls to further zoom in on the members of Team HART. It was clear even to an untrained eye that the four warriors were excellent fighters, each member acting as part of a well oiled machine as they took down a Huntsman from Team QRTZ with apparent ease. It was only through his many years as Headmaster of Beacon that Ozpin was able to comprehend that their styles of fighting were unlike anything taught at the four Huntsmen Academies, nor were they taught in any of the various battles schools from around the world.

"Headmaster Ozpin, is everything alight?" Ironwood's voice seemed to hesitate as the General tried to direct his friend away from the holo-screen.

"This is why I have requested you all here." Ozpin touched the scroll so that the video was paused on the four members from Team HART. "We seem to have some unexpected guests that need to be addressed."

"But I thought we were here to, you know…" Qrow glanced at Winter's direction before continuing in a lower voice, "Choose a new guardian."

Winter's head shot to the side to stare at the wizened Huntsman. "Choose a what?" But before she could inquire further into the older man's odd comment, Professor Ozip cut her off.

"I'm afraid if they are here now, then we have more pressing matters to attend to."

 _"More pressing matters?!_ What could possibly be more important than the Maidens, Oz?!" Qrow yelled in exasperation as he roughly gestured at his friend with his flask.

"You are going to have to trust me on this, Qrow." Ozpin turned away from the exasperated Huntsman to face his Deputy Headmistress. "Glynda, can you pull up Team HART's registration information and statistics report, please?"

The blonde Huntress nodded before typing away at her scroll, and after a few seconds of her efforts, she looked up at the four headshots of the tournament participants with interest. "Team HART from… Kuroyuri? Why does that name seem unfamiliar?"

"That's because Kuroyuri was deserted almost two decades ago after a violent Grimm attack." Ozpin replied calmly. "It doesn't even exist on most maps anymore."

"The rest of their paperwork is like this too. While it all passed security and registration checks, their paperwork under further examination can be seen as… unusual." Goodwitch's eyes scanned quickly over the information that appeared on the hologram, taking in some of smaller discrepancies in their applications and statistics reports.

Ozpin hummed as he took all of this information in, before turning to address his companions. "It is unusual, Glynda, because it is the work of someone trying to blend in without really knowing the area. Or rather the world in which they are in." Ozpin let out a light chuckle as he thought of the absurdity of his own words. It seemed as if he was the only one to share in his humor as everyone else in the room had growing looks of alarm and concern at his actions.

"The world? Isn't that a bit dramatic?" The General glanced around at the other members in the room. "Should we inform security?"

"No. There is no need to cause such a disturbance. And please forgive me, James… It's just been a very long time since I've last seen someone carrying weapons similar to theirs." Ozpin waved off Ironwood's worries with a wave of his hand.

"Care to share with the rest of the class, Oz?" Qrow asked in a slurred drawl. "I've got an eye for weapons, something that seems to have been picked up by my niece… But that's a tale for another time. Anyway, these weapons they carry don't look all that special, Oz. They just seem to be huge keys."

"I am hesitant to agree with Qrow," Winter interjected as she studied the four members of Team HART taking in their various weapons and age differences – the oldest member dressed in a long white coat with a blue waistcoat appeared to be around her early twenties, while the youngest member was a boy dressed in green who didn't look a day older than fifteen; an unusual group of people to be sure. "But as far as I can see, they don't seem to be the most dangerous of adversaries. As for their keys, besides being a vicious melee weapon, I don't think they can do much damage."

Qrow nodded as he examined the stilled video a more intently. "I doubt those keys are hiding any clips for bullets, lazars, or even Dust. Seems like just a simple grab-and-whack type of weapon to me."

"It is less about the weapons themselves, but more about the wielders and why they are here." Ozpin replied.

"Why should it matter who uses a bunch of giant keys during the tournament?" Ironwood asked. He was certain that his Special Forces operatives could easily take them out if these key wielders posed a serious threat.

"Let's just say that last person I met who wielded a Keyblade was just a young boy, and unfortunately, it did not bode well for Vale."

Everyone was silent as they watched the Headmaster scroll through their statistics report from their last fight. "Be on your guard, everyone. While these teenagers do not particularly pose as a threat now, most people like them tend to be followed by trouble. However, given enough time to explore the Vytal festival and the grounds of Beacon, I am sure they will be returning from where they are from shortly."

"How can you be so sure?" Glynda asked in concern, her eyes never straying from the holo-screen before them. Her piercing green gaze taking in Team HART's headshots, no doubt memorizing their facial features for later use.

"Simply because it has happened before." Ozpin turned away from his fellow companions to pour a cup of coffee from an elaborate container sitting to the side of his desk, into a smaller ceramic mug with Beacon's crest printed on the side. "Do not worry Glynda – nor you, Qrow. It was before your time. Yours too, General."

Ozpin took a long sip from his mug before lowering his gaze to meet the youngest member in the room.

"Miss Schnee, I saw that your sister made it into the Doubles round. I'm sure that her fight with Miss Xiao Long will be quite… entertaining."

"It will be something, that's for sure." Winter replied as she thought over the footage she had seen of Team RWBY's fight against Haven's Team ABRN. Her sister had performed admirably, although her endurance left a lot to be desired as Winter had noticed Weiss' tendency to be winded easily from extended combat.

"As you are stationed here until the tournament's end, will you be watching the match in person?" Ozpin inquired, no doubt trying to lighten the mood and sooth everyone's frightened Auras that were starting to make the room itself feel suffocating from the negative energy.

Winter took the lifeline for what it was, not wanting to dwell on the sour look of Qrow's face as he reflected upon Ozpin's previous comments. Qrow's hand reached into his coat no doubt for the hidden flask of bottom shelf whisky.

The Atlesian rolled her eyes at the causal display of public intoxication before answering the Headmaster's question. "Should the opportunity present itself, I do hope to be there in support of my sister. Otherwise, I'll be sure to meet up with Weiss during her allotted free time to go over some of the more… finer points of her Semblance work."

"Showing your little sister a new party trick?" Qrow asked as his grimace turned into a smirk as he took a long drink from his flask.

Winter titled her head up in annoyance. "Summoning Grimm spirits is not what I would call a simple party trick. Not that you would know anything about such a refined art."

The drunken Huntsman only rolled his eyes in replace of a verbal response.

Ozpin cleared his throat to catch their attention once more. "I find it hardly fair to compare such Semblances when one is hereditary."

Winter scoffed as Qrow merely rolled his eyes in mockery.

The Headmaster turned to face Winter. "Please keep an eye on Miss Schnee for a few days, or at least until the end of the tournament. Should Miss Xiao Long and your sister win their bout, they will _both_ progress to the finals round as Single combatants – as per the new tournament rules this year. If Weiss is to face one of the Keyblade wielders…"

Ozpin paused in his speech as he clicked the video screen so that a Live stream of Team HART could be seen on the holo-screen as they celebrated their team victory. "Well, she might just meet her match."

"Is such an outcome so certain, Professor Ozpin?" Winter asked as she glanced over to the video, not seeing any of the four teammates as particularly concerning – except for maybe the eldest member.

Ozpin sighed. "Nothing is ever certain, Miss Schnee. But it is best to be prepared."

"Headmaster Ozpin, what happened the last time one of these… er, 'Keyblade Wielders' was here?" General Ironwood tore his gaze away from the unusual fighters on screen.

"Nothing good, I assure you." Ozpin replied as he picked up a discarded mug of coffee and took a small sip of the lukewarm liquid. The Headmaster's attention was drawn to the screen once more as it showed Team HART gather at the registration booth to place their decision for who would officially participate in the Doubles' round. According to the information retrieved by Goodwitch, it would be one 'Ryu Nakamura' and another young woman who was only listed as 'Aloy'.

Ozpin set his mug back down on his desk before reaching for his cane and turning to address the nervous General, the Headmaster's serious eyes flashed from behind small wire-rimmed tinted glasses.

"But to answer your question James, the last time we encountered a Keyblade wielder, Vale was nearly over run by Grimm. And Beacon Academy almost fell with it."


	3. Strangers in a Strange Land

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good afternoon everyone! As mentioned in my last author's notes, I already had most of this next part of the mega chapter written out so here's the next installment. Also I highly recommend looking up any Keyblades that I mention on here since most of them (but not all) are canon from the games (it might help to better visualize them). I hope you all are ready for this... Special thanks to Mysteriesofthislife for being an awesome Beta and supporting me as I work on this fic instead of yelling at me to finish my Master's thesis. What a good support system. :P But really, thanks to everyone who has commented on this thus far. They made my day! Please feel free to comment or yell at me on tumblr at blacklabyrinth07. I always love hearing from my readers. Anyway, back to the story. Enjoy!

The roar of the arena was almost deafening to Ruby's sensitive ears as she entered the seating area for the teams participating in the Vytal Tournament. It had been several days since the start of the competition, and now as the Single's event was starting, the tournament was drawing to a close. Ruby was proud of her teammates, as both Weiss and Yang's victory over Flint Coal and Neon Katt from Atlas' Team FNKI secured their slots as participants in the final round. Ruby was happy that Weiss had recovery quickly from her dip into the geyser, so much so that the young Heiress had been spending all of her spare time training with her sister Winter.

Ruby cringed internally as she recalled her introduction to the older Schnee woman, as her first impression could have gone better. Although, nothing could be a better entrance then Uncle Qrow's fight against Winter. The young Huntress was a little more than proud to see her Uncle in action as he totally kicked Winter's butt. Weiss, on the other hand, was quick to disagree on the outcome of the street brawl.

Ruby was distracted from her thoughts as Weiss sat down next to her in the stands, followed by Blake and Yang. The team turned to watch the current match of their friend, Sun Wukong, against some crossbow woman named Cyan from Atlas. Sun seemed to be holding his own against the young Huntress, as Blake could be heard cheering loudly for her friend in the background.

Ruby glanced over at her partner, who was still waiting for their turn down in the arena. The Heiress had her weapon, Myrtenaster, resting between her legs as she ran a thumb over the polished hilt in apprehension. To anyone else, this might have been interpreted as mindless, but after being partners for several months now, Ruby recognized it as a nervous tick. Before she could address it, Ruby was distracted by a loud voice that yelled in her ear from the seats behind her.

"Well, would you look at that? It's our Team BroTP!" Nora asked as she carried two extra-large popcorn buckets, surrounded by the rest of her teammates as they took their seats.

"I don't think that's a thing, Nora." Ren stated as took his seat to her left.

"Well, look who decided to show up. It's Team JNPR!" Yang exclaimed as their friends in question sat directly behind them so that Nora could reach down and tackle the blonde in an awkward hug from above.

"It's totally a thing, Ren. And we couldn't miss out on this!" Nora shouted as she gestured to the fight below while stuffing her face with handfuls of popcorn in rapid succession.

"Should you really be eating all of that before your battle, Nora?" Blake asked, her bow on her head twitched slightly while she watched the other Huntress gorge herself on the mountains of junk food before her.

"Yup! You know I can't fight on an empty stomach!" Nora exclaimed as she happily munched on her buttery snack. "How's our friend doing?"

"Sun's holding his own, although he would have fared better against another close-ranged melee fighter like himself." Blake replied as she watched Sun's battle with narrowed eyes. The monkey Faunas was swinging around his weapon in gun-chuck form; each bullet from the built-in guns stopped an incoming crossbow bolt. Sun's fighting form was flawless as he effortlessly blocked all the flying bolts, but their friend needed to get into closer range to be more effective.

Ruby nodded. "He just needs to close in on his opponent and then he'll have an upper hand fight in close range combat with his gun-chucks." Ruby made sound effects as she pretended to Karate chop an invisible opponent as part of her explanation.

Weiss rolled her eyes at the childish display that contradicted so much with the detailed analysis of the fighting strategy her partner had just explained. Ruby may be a Huntress in training, but she still very much acted her young age of only sixteen.

"Who's on deck?" Pyrrha asked as she scanned the holo-screen projectors that not only showed the crowed the fighter's stats and Aura levels, but also stated who was fighting in the next battle. No one from JNPR or RWBY had been selected yet to fight in the Single's portion of the tournament. Pyrrha and Nora seemed to be handling the pressure well. On the other hand, Weiss was fiddling with her weapon constantly, while Yang bouncing her right leg rapidly on the end of the row. Ruby sighed as she watched her teammates fidget in their seats the more time went on.

It was going to be a long wait.

"I don't know. Some kids from Haven and Shade." Jaune replied as he reached over to steal a handful of popcorn from his eccentric teammate. Ruby scanned the holo-screens for confirmation, shrugging as she didn't recognize the fighters listed for the upcoming round.

"Um… Excuse me? Are these seats still available?"

Ruby looked away from her friends to address the person who spoke in the row in front of them. Her silver eyes widened in surprise when she recognized the speaker as one of the members from Team HART. As she glanced to the right of the young boy who had spoken, it was revealed that one of his other teammates stood silently behind him.

"Yes, of course. Feel free!" Ruby waved at the available seats below them and smiled at the boy who seemed roughly her age.

"Thank you! I'm Titus Astar, by the way."

Titus looked about a few inches taller than Ruby herself. He had fair skin that rivaled Weiss' own complexion, and a cheeky smile that was only matched by hazel eyes that seemed to sparkle with mischief. Ruby noticed that Titus had slightly pointed ears peeking out behind shaggy blonde hair. The boy was wearing a forest green hooded jacket styled with a large zipper that slanted over his shoulder, and down over a white V-neck T-shirt. His shirt was tucked into brown cargo pants. His only armor consisted of dark leather vambraces, gloves, and shin guards over buckled boots.

"Ruby Rose!" The young Huntress in red replied as she held out her hand for the boy to take. Soon enough the rest of her team and those from JNPR introduced themselves to the smiling boy.

"You're from one of the N.A.R. Teams, correct?" Blake asked, her amber eyes glancing over the two young Huntsmen before her.

"Yup! And you're all from Beacon, right?" Titus asked, his back turned from the engaging fight below to address the speaker.

"That's right. Team RWBY and Team JNPR respectively." Yang stated as she pointed to her own teammates before gesturing to the row behind her. "Congrats on getting to the Finals round. I caught your fight against Team QRTZ, it was very impressive." Yang stated with a smile.

"Where are you from?" Weiss asked.

"Kuroyuri." Titus replied with a bright smile, his left hand reaching to rub the back of his neck. The young boy ignoring the looks of unease that passed between Ren and Nora from his answer.

"Who's you friend?" Jaune asked, not noticing his teammates' discomfort.

"Oh sorry, I'm still working on my manners." Titus smiled apologetically. Weiss' left eyebrow rose at the strange confession, but the boy continued on as if nothing was amiss.

"This is my partner, Ryu Nakamura." Titus explained as he waved over to the taller boy beside him, who bowed slightly at the introduction.

Ryu stood at a solid 6'3'' with mocha skin and deep amber slanted eyes. His long jet-black hair was tied in a tight topknot and there was a minute scar on his right eyebrow. Ryu's lower face was covered by the collar of a skintight black undershirt. Dark grey billowing pants reached down to his ankles and matched a pair of open-toed sandals. A bright orange and black yukata decorated with red and pink Ume flower blossoms was tucked around his waist in a black leather belt with brass fastenings, the draped painted silk leaving his muscled shoulders free for use.

Weiss gulped taking in his muscular stature, hoping that he would not be her opponent in the tournament. The Huntress was unsure if she could withstand a devastating blow from the giant weapon slung over his back. She had seen his name and face on the list of Finalists, but seeing the young man in person was a bit intimidating.

"He doesn't say much, but he means well." Titus clarified for his silent, but observant companion.

"Where are your other teammates?" Yang asked as she reached behind her seat to steal a handful of Nora's depleting popcorn stash.

"There they are!" Titus pointed through the crowd at two young women standing off to the side talking quietly with none other than Professor Ozpin.

"The tall one in white and blue is Aloy. She's the newest member to our team, but the oldest of us which is funny. Aloy's twenty-two years old, Ryu and Haruka are both nineteen, and I'm fifteen!" Titus puffed out his chest with pride.

Weiss smiled as the young boy rambled on, reminding her of Ruby when they had first met. Titus continued on with his explanation as he pointed out each member of his team, the boy bouncing on his heels in his own excitement. "The shorter girl with the purple cape is our team leader, Haruka Shiryoku."

"That is your Headmaster, correct?" Ryu asked, surprising the Huntsmen with his low voice. The young man's voice was slow but concise, thick with an accent unheard of by any of the Beacon students.

"Yup! That's him alright!" Nora exclaimed as she stared unabashedly at the interaction between their Headmaster and Titus' teammates. "I wonder why he's talking with them?"

Weiss watched the girls with interest noticing how Aloy was relaxed as she shifted her weight from one foot to another, a sly smile on her face as she nodded at Professor Ozpin. Haruka appeared to be more reserved, with her arms crossed over her chest in a defensive manner, but she suddenly laughed at something the taller girl had said.

Yang shrugged. "Maybe he just wanted to introduce himself and welcome them to Beacon. This is the first time in the Vytal Festival's history that outsiders were allowed into the tournament." Yang glanced over at the two strangers in the row below her. "Er… No offense."

"None taken." Titus replied as he waved off her concerned face.

"Any chance I can see your blade-thingy?" Ruby asked with a hand on the back of her neck. "I'm kind of obsessed with weapons."

"That's putting it lightly," Weiss remarked sarcastically while popping her hip and crossing her arms to stare sternly at her leader.

"Sure! This is my baby, Missing Ache. Isn't she beautiful?" Titus asked as he pulled the weapon from a clip attached to a brown leather belt around his thin waist, the metal of the blade shining in the stadium's lights.

The weapon was short and had a black handle and neck, with the handle protected on either side by curved spikes that formed as a chartreuse green guard around the hand's placement on the grip. The top of the blade was also green with two long spikes forming the teeth. At the base of the blade's handle was a silver chain with a small green crown-like symbol that swung with Titus' gentle movements.

"What is it exactly?" Blake asked, her amber eyes raking over the weapon's sleek form. The blade was simplistic in design, and yet looked efficient as a weapon suitable for Titus' smaller stature.

"It's called a Keyblade." Titus replied, as if that explained its worth.

"Yes, I can see that. The name seems kind of redundant given its general shape. But what does it… _do?"_ Weiss asked as she looked at the Keyblade skeptically.

"Uh…" Titus opened his mouth to respond, but before he could come up with an adequate response, he was interrupted by Ruby who had been inspecting the weapon from afar in wonder.

"Does it shoot lasers?" Ruby asked in earnest.

"Er… No?" The boy tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"Can it transform into a gun?" Yang asked, Ember Celica cocking into place on her arms.

"Nope." Titus glanced down at his Keyblade in wistfulness.

"Launch a missile?" Nora asked in excitement as she leaned over so close to the blade that her breath fogged up the metal.

"What?! No." Titus yanked the weapon to a safer distance away from Nora's creeping face.

"Hidden tear gas or a Taser?" Ren asked.

"Nope and nope." Titus popped the 'p' at their confused looks.

"Oh… So it's just a giant key." Yang stated, the brawler unable to hide a slight note of disappointment from her voice.

"Well, I wouldn't say that they're _just_ keys." Titus joked as he reverently ran a hand along the body of the green and white Keyblade.

"It is an honor, as much as it is a burden, to wield a Keyblade." Ryu proclaimed as he reached behind his right shoulder and slowly withdrew a giant brass and steel Keyblade. The massive weapon had been fastened on his back by two black leather belts that crossed in a wide 'X' pattern over his chest.

Ruby gazed at the unusual design of the blade in awe.

The golden brass guard and enclosed black handle was offset from the brushed steel shaft of the slightly curved outward blade. The Keyblade's teeth were formed by rectangular metal plates of steel with brass accents, which were spread out to look like a bird's wing. Ryu's Keyblade also had a keychain token that hung from the handle, but the design was a light green diamond-cut gem with two silver strands spiraling around it.

"However, the Keyblade is one weapon that we wield willingly, as it is our destiny." Ryu solemnly spoke as he ran a thumb down the length of the blade.

"Shut your mouth, Ruby. You're drooling on my sleeve." Weiss chided as she forced Ruby's opened jaw closed with her hand.

"It's beautiful," Jaune whispered as he too gazed lovingly at the giant melee weapon. "Your blade is so huge!"

"Don't be jealous, Jaune. I'm sure your own sword is quite adequate." Blake replied in a monotone voice. Yang snorted as Nora wiggled her eyebrows at the innuendo.

"I'm sure Pyrrha would agree – _Ouch!"_ Nora yelled as she was cut off from her comment by Ren's elbow to her ribs.

"Its name is Wayward Wind." Ryu explained, ignoring the Beacon students' banter as he pulled the keychain into his palm, the light reflecting off the green gem. "It was a gift."

"It's unusual for a whole team to share similar weapons." Weiss eyed the Keyblade that was being displayed before her, as her own partner continued to drool at the shiny and sleek design.

"As it is unusual for everyone to have names and teams referring to color." Ryu replied as he replaced the blade on his back and crossed his arms in front of his chest in challenge.

"Actually, that's kind of a thing within the Kingdoms after the Great War." Ren replied. "But being from Kuroyuri, surely you would have already known that?" Ren place his hands on his hips as he narrowed his eyes at the strangers before him. Ryu held his gaze, his slanted amber eyes never wavering from Ren's own challenging stare.

Before anyone could speak, a loud roar from the crowd caused the two Huntsmen to break eye contact and glance back towards the center of the arena. Sun had managed to break Cyan's Aura with a strong hit from his weapon, causing the crowd to yell in approval. This disruption allowed the small group of students from Beacon and Team HART to lessen the growing tension in the air.

Titus raised his hands in surrender. "Why don't we all just turn around and enjoy the fight? We can all talk later and get to know each other more once the tournament is done for the day, alright?"

Pyrrha took the offered olive branch for what it was. "I think that's a great idea."

"Agreed, besides the fight's getting good. Sun's landing some great combos." Yang remarked as she and her fellow teammates took their seats again to face the fight below.

Their attention was drawn back to the floating stage as Sun used his Semblance to form two yellow spectral clones that jumped over a barrage of crossbow bolts to hold Cyan's arms down, only for the real Sun to follow up with a powerful roundhouse kick to the fighter's skull. The crowd roared in approval as the woman was knocked out from the unsuspecting blow. Sun smiled at the crowd's enthusiasm and waved to his cheering friends in the section of stands that seated the other competitors.

 **"What a knockout!"** Professor Port's voice echoed over the stadium, as the announcer shared his excitement with the spectators below. **"I expected nothing less from Sun, team leader of the appropriately named Team SSSN of Haven Academy."**

 **"What a spectacular display of Semblance work! Indeed, a brilliant display of athleticism shown by Sun Wukong!"** Dr. Oobleck spoke in rapid succession over the speakers as Cyan was helped off the arena's floating stage. Her unconscious form was taken off on a stretcher by a nearby medical team. Sun's monkey tail flicked around in excitement as he chatted with one of the medics, the Faunus checking in on Cyan's condition before exiting the arena to the locker rooms.

 **"Up next we have Pepper Porter of Team PRPL from Haven, and Magenta McCormick of Team MINT from Shade! Let's give them a big round of applause."** Professor Port stated as two women, both holding lethal looking weapons walked towards the center of the now lowered stage.

 **"Ladies and gentlemen, if you would please direct your attention to the holo-screens where our next competitors will be randomly selected for the next round."** Dr. Oobleck directed.

There was a murmur of excitement that shot through the crowd as pictures of the competitors blurred together in a dizzying spin. After a few tense seconds, the randomization process slowed down to a halt, stopping on two headshots.

Ruby turned to face her partner as she heard the white-haired girl gasp. Ruby reached out to squeeze Weiss' hand in reassurance as they glanced back at the holo-screen.

**"And there you have it, everyone! On deck we have Weiss Schnee of Team RWBY from our own Beacon Academy, verses newcomer Aloy of Team HART of the N.A.R.! Will both ladies please report to the south entrance of the stadium for your weapons check before your match. Thank you."**

The crowd cheered at Professor Port's words.

 **"And now, it's time for Pepper Porter and Magenta McCormick to fight with honor for their schools. Let the match begin in: Three... Two... One... Begin!"** Dr. Oobleck's voice could barely be heard over the roar of the crowd as the two Huntresses were now facing each other on the raised platform ran across the stage, their weapons held high.

"Team 'Heart', how cute." Pyrrha remarked as she watched Weiss rise from her seat, brush off imaginary wrinkles from her combat skirt and matching white bolero, and walked towards the center aisle with her head held high.

"Thanks! I came up with it myself." Titus replied as he turned towards his older teammate who only rolled his eyes at his partner's enthusiasm.

"Kick her ass, Weiss!" Nora shouted at the retreating Schnee's form.

But before the young Huntress could disappear into the crowd, Weiss was stopped by a taller woman in an Atlesian military uniform and matching stark white hair tied in a tight bun.

"Isn't that Winter? What's she still doing here?" Yang asked as she too had seen the older Schnee girl.

"Maybe she's here to see Weiss' match? I overheard Weiss say that Winter was staying until the end of the festival." Blake remarked as the rest of Team RWBY watched in surprise as Winter glanced around for other military personal before enveloping her younger sister in a tender hug. When Winter pulled away, she held Weiss out at arm's length before saying something that was lost to roar of the crowd as the fight below continued.

Blake's bow flicked as she swiveled her extra ears to pick up on the Schnees' conversation out of habit. "How sweet…"

Yang quickly turned to face her eavesdropping partner. "What's going on?"

"Winter told Weiss that no matter the outcome of the match, she's proud of her." Blake smiled as she turned away from the cherished moment between sisters in an attempt to give them more privacy.

"Awww… The older Ice Queen has a heart," Yang chided as she whipped out her scroll, no doubt to take pictures of the tender moment to send to her teammate later.

"Be nice Yang, she's coming this way." Ruby commented as she watched Weiss leave her sister with a reassuring smile and disappeared further into the stadium. Just as Ruby had stated, Winter had turned towards their direction and was making her way down their aisle until she stood next to Team RWBY, her light blue eyes darting to the seat Weiss had left unoccupied.

"If it is alright with you, may I join you all for the duration of Weiss' fight? I would like to keep an eye on her match from the most opportune angle, which happens to be here." Winter asked as she clasped her hands behind her back.

Ruby glanced at her teammates who shrugged before nodding. "Sure! The more the merrier. I'm sure Weiss will be ecstatic to know you'll be watching her match."

"I am sure she will do well." Winter stated as she sat down in the empty seat between Ruby and Blake. "After all, I've been working with Weiss diligently over the last few days. This is sure to be an entertaining match, if nothing else."

"That's for sure, but I wouldn't bet on your friend's assured victory. Aloy will put up a good fight." Titus remarked as he glanced back at the newcomer.

Before Winter could remark on his boast, they were interrupted by one of the girls whom Ruby saw speaking with Professor Ozpin earlier.

"Hey guys, did you hear that Aloy's up next? I can't wait to see this." The girl smiled as she stood next to her seated teammates. She glanced back at the Huntresses seated directly behind her. "Hello everyone, as I'm sure Titus already explained my name is Haruka Shiryoku, leader of Team HART. It is a pleasure to meet you all." Haruka smiled at the girls who now had captured her attention.

"Likewise, I'm Ruby, leader of Team RWBY from Beacon." The young Huntress smiled as she took an offered hand in greeting.

"Blake," The dark-haired girl introduced while she nudged her partner to gain her attention away from the fight below.

"And I'm Yang!" The blonde pointed at herself with her thumb.

Winter sat in silence as she observed the younger girl before her, taking in her strange appearance. The smiling girl looked like she had stepped out of a fantasy book.

Haruka was on the shorter side, hitting at about 5'4'' with tan skin and long chocolate brown hair that fell in waves across her shoulders. Bright amethyst eyes stood out from sharp features as she smiled at the other Huntresses. Haruka wore a long-sleeved white embroidered shirt with tight black leather pants that were tucked into matching boots. Over her shirt she wore a purple velvet vest, with silver buttons that matched her eyes. The vest was stitched with silver thread, the intricate embroidery formed a swirling pattern that lead to the right shoulder blade. The embroidery led to a metal-plated silver and black eye mask that acted as decorative armor. A large silver key was fixed in place to her right arm with long strips of black leather, which seemed to serve no other purpose than aesthetic.

Ruby's attention was drawn to a stylized two-toned amethyst and silver lining half cape that was slung over Haruka's left shoulder. The dramatic cape was clasped to her shoulder blade by a silver chain, along with a wide black leather belt that strapped her Keyblade in place onto her back. What was most interesting about her appearance was the rows of keys of every shape and size that hung off the girl's left shoulder and over the cape on various lengths of silver chains. A vast collection of old and new looking keys glinted as brushed silver, iron, polished bronze and even gold flashed with each movement of her cape in the stadium's harsh lights.

"I'm afraid we haven't been properly introduced. I'm Winter Schnee, Special Operative of the Atlesian military and Weiss' older sister." Winter stated as she offered her white gloved hand for a handshake as well.

Haruka eyed the gloved hand briefly before shaking it firmly. "It's a pleasure. I see that my teammate has been pitted against your sister in the next round."

"So it seems," Winter stated in a cold demeanor as her eyes raked over the other's girl form, taking in her weapon and slight stature. Her gaze flickered to Haruka's other two companions, her eyes narrowing as she took in this strange group of people before her.

"What business do you have with the Beacon's Headmaster?" Winter asked as she leaned forward in her seat to stare at the appointed leader of Team HART. The oldest Schnee sister was never one to beat things around the bush in terms of important manners.

"What's it to you?" Haruka asked, an eyebrow arching in question.

"The Atlesian military has been appointed as added security for the event, so I have made it my business to know, well, everyone's business." Winter replied with a wave of her hand.

Haruka matched the older woman's gaze, their stare never breaking before team leader replied with a grin and a wave of her own hand. "If you must know, Headmaster Ozpin was merely welcoming us to his school and has graciously offered us open access to the school's grounds."

"And why would he do that?" Winter asked in challenge as her mouth pressed in a firm frown as she crossed her arms.

"He was merely being a gracious host." Haruka smirked at the white-haired woman's angered response.

"We'd be happy to give you a tour of Beacon after today's fights. Or I am sure Team JNPR could show you around too if you ask them nicely… Or bribe Nora with more popcorn." Ruby spoke in earnest as she glanced between the two women who were staring at each other in open hostility.

Before either woman could speak again, they were interrupted by Yang who had leaned around the hostile conversation being had by Winter and Haruka, to point at someone in the far crowd.

"Sorry to interrupt whatever moment you are having, but isn't that your teammate, Aloy? I thought she was supposed to be at weapons check right now for her match?" Yang asked as she gained the attention of her teams and those of the Keyblade wielders.

"Yup, that's Aloy alright. But who is she talking to?" Titus asked as he squinted through the crowd to stare at his older friend.

"How does she know Cinder?" Ruby asked as she narrowed her eyes at the pair who seemed to be having a private conversation. The young Huntress watched in unconcealed interest as Aloy spoke rapidly in hushed tones, the young woman seemed visibly uncomfortable by Cinder's presence. But Cinder only smirked at the Keyblade wielder's increased agitation, and pulled out her scroll to show something to Aloy. However, the taller woman's reaction was blocked from view as a group of spectators crossed between the two women and where the teams were seated.

"Who's Cinder?" Titus asked as he glanced back at the Beacon students in question.

"A student from Haven Academy. I didn't know they knew each other." Yang stated as she tapped her fingers on the arms of her chair, as a sense of unease gripped the brawler.

"She doesn't…" Haruka face turned grim as she watched her partner interact with the Huntress from Haven.

Haruka suddenly stood up from her chair. "I'm going to find out what's going on."

"It's too late, Cinder's gone and it seems like Aloy's left too." Blake stated as she pointed at the area where the two women had been standing only moments ago. Ruby's eyes frantically scanned the surrounding crowd but both women had indeed seemed to have disappeared.

"Damn it!" Haruka exclaimed as she harshly sat down on her chair.

"What did your eyes see, Haruka?" Ryu asked, his question further confusing the Huntresses behind them.

"I saw nothing, Ryu. I just have a bad feeling about this." The leader said as she turned to watch the match that had just ended before them, Pepper Porter from Team PRPL claiming the round's victory for Haven Academy. They all kept their eyes glued to the holo-screen as Huntsmen from Shade and Atlas were selected to be on deck for the next fight.

"Guys, the match is starting!" Jaune exclaimed as he jumped forward in his seat, startling the Huntresses and Keyblade wielders away from their tense conversation.

Sure enough, within seconds of Jaune's comment, both Weiss and Aloy could be seen as they slowly walked out to the center of the arena on the brightly lit steel stage. The stark white outfits worn by both women contrasted harshly against the cool grey of the now rising platform.

 **"And now, we have Weiss Schnee of Team RWBY from Beacon Academy, verses Aloy of Team HART of the N.A.R.! Let's show them our support this evening!"** Professor Port's voice boomed over the loud speakers. In response, the decimal level rose to an all-time high as the spectators yelled and cheered, giving Weiss their support. They hoped their cheers would give the Beacon student a home field advantage.

 **"Combatants, are you ready?"** Dr. Oobleck asked over the speakers.

Winter smirked in pride as she witnessed Weiss answer Dr. Oobleck call by moving Myrtenaster in a lavish salute to her opponent, the crowd, and the announcers' press box in perfect form. To Winter's surprise, Aloy responded in kind with her own form of a salute with her unique Keyblade.

**"What a beautiful display of good sportsmanship. Ladies and gentlemen, we are in for a treat tonight. Let's give them a show of thanks with a round of applause!"**

The crowd roared their approval at Professor Port's words in a deafening wall of sound.

**"Combatants, the match will begin in: Three…"**

Nora cheered wildly along with the rest of Team JNPR as they shouted their support for their friend. A few rows in front of them, Titus rose from his seat to yell for his own teammate.

**"Two..."**

Winter's gloved hands tightened their grip on her chair's arms. The Atlesian's back stiffened as she watched her younger sister stand at the ready; the only outward signs of her apprehension.

**"One..."**

Ruby's breath caught in her throat as she learned forward at the edge of her seat, her silver eyes never leaving Weiss' poised form.

**"Begin!"**

Weiss and Aloy charged across the raised platform in streaks of white, their movements only a blur of color as they swung their weapons in a devastating blow. The Huntresses seemed to dance around the arena while flashes of sparks flew through the air as their weapons met in a duel of biting steel.

All eyes in the arena were glued to the match before them, as each spectator filled with excitement and adrenaline while they watched the fight below. Little did they know that this match would mark the beginning of the fall of Remnant.


	4. A Duel of Fates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good evening everyone! I'm so excited to get this next segment of the mega chapter out (as this part was the reason the original chapter had to split up in so many parts - only one more after this that would have made up the original... oops). Special thanks to Mysteriesofthislife for being an awesome Beta and pushing me to become a better writer, as well help get me life back in order. Things have been really crazy on my end, but I wanted to post this before this story was lost in the shuffle that is life. Thank you so much to those who commented on the last chapter; not only do your comments, questions, and theories make my day (sometimes week), but they also help me figure out the general direction this story will go in. TLDR: Feedback = :) As always, please feel free to leave a comment on here or come yell at me at blacklabyrinth07 on tumblr. I always love hearing from my readers. Also, this is the point in the story where I mess with Kingdom Hearts and RWBY lore, so if something seems odd or doesn't fit at first, just go with it... All will be explained in due time. *Insert Evil laughter Here* Anyway, I hope you are all ready for this... Lots of fun stuff happening here. Let me know what you think! Enjoy!

Weiss blinked rapidly, the bright lights from the stadium momentarily blinding her as she stepped out from the tunnel leading from the waiting room. The Huntress paused at the entrance of the tunnels, trying to gather her bearings as her senses were overloaded by the stadium lights and shouts of the crowd. Before Weiss could move from the tunnel's mouth, she was joined by her opponent who appeared withdrawn. The other woman stuck to the shadows of the tunnel, hiding most of her features. Aloy was wearing a stern frown on her face and clearly seemed lost in her thoughts, but otherwise she was not showing any outward signs of distress.

 _'Or if she is, she's an excellent actress.'_ Weiss thought to herself as she wiped her slightly sweaty palms onto her combat skirt, her face remaining in its neutral mask. _'I can't stand this silence. Ruby must be rubbing off on me, that dolt.'_

"So… Does your Keyblade have a name too?" Weiss asked, her left palm fidgeting with the hilt of Myrtenaster.

Aloy raised her dark eyebrows in surprise, not expecting the white-haired girl to speak to her before the match.

"Your teammate, Titus, is quite the talker." Weiss explained as she shifted her weight onto her other foot while her arms wrapped around her torso in nerves.

A faint smirk could be seen to grace her lips, before the Keyblade wielder glanced down at the blade that was in her hand. "Its true name is Ya'arburnee, although I've gotten used to calling it Yearning Heart. It's a bit easier to remember." The fighter chuckled slightly at the sad attempt at humor, before she slipped back into a solemn state.

Weiss looked at the blade that was being shown to her in intrigue. The Keyblade was curved so that the edge was shaped like a cutlass. The blade itself was formed from Damascus steel, the swirling black and blue pattern seemed to shimmer in the light like dancing shadows. On the opposite side of the curved blade, the teeth were an outline of a heart created in the same swirling steel material. The farthest side of the heart was significantly longer than the other, forming a sharp hooked edge. The hilt of the Keyblade was royal blue with a black thorn pattern that combined to form a black leather grip. The two halves of the hilt's guard were bent into a stylized heart which ended in three points.

A silver keychain hung off the end, the emblem shown was a stylized black heart with the same triangular three points at its base, similar to the blade's guard. The heart was outlined in royal blue which also formed a thorn-like pattern that crossed in an 'X' through the heart.

"What about you? Does your blade have a name too?" Aloy asked as the older girl attached her weapon to her side and leaned back against the concrete entrance to the tunnel behind them.

"This is Myrtenaster. I designed it myself." Weiss withdrew her blade, the intricate design work of the handle and dust cartages catching the light.

"Very impressive, Schnee." Aloy remarked, her voice laced with sincerity as a hint of a smile returned to her lips.

"Did you design your Keyblade too? It looks rather unique." Weiss remarked as she stared at the blade now resting on Aloy's left hip.

Aloy shook her head as her face returned to its previously dark expression. "No, or rather I don't think so. The truth is, I really don't remember where I got this." Aloy glanced over at the Heiress' confused expression, only answering Weiss with a shrug of her own shoulders. "I've always had Yearning Heart. At least, as far as I know."

Weiss cocked her head to the side in question. "What exactly do you mean by…"

But she was cut off from her question by the booming voice of her professor over the loud speakers.

 **"And now, we have Weiss Schnee of Team RWBY from Beacon Academy, verses Aloy of Team HART of the N.A.R.! Let's show them our support this evening!"** Professor Port's voice boomed over the loud speakers as the decimal level rose with the spectators' yells and cheers.

 _'Well, here goes nothing.'_ Weiss took a deep breath as she let the crowd's cheers wash over her before walking out to the center steel platform.

Weiss turned to face her opponent. Steel blue eyes locked with her own as the Heiress addressed the Keyblade user. "Good luck, Aloy."

But as Weiss waited for a reply, the Keyblade wielder gave her none as the older girl's frown deepened, before Aloy stepped forward deeper into the arena.

"Alright then…" Weiss muttered darkly as she rushed to keep up with the taller girl.

As soon as both Aloy and Weiss had walked a safe distance onto the center stage, the platform rose so that it stood several hundreds of feet into the air. Weiss walked to the North side of the platform, while Aloy turned to face the South side so that, once in position, both fighters turned to properly face their opponents for the first time. It was then that Weiss took these precious few moments to examine her challenger in the light.

Aloy was tall for her age, towering over Weiss at approximately 6'1''. She had fair skin and sharp steely-blue eyes that stood out from dark brows and sharp features. Her opponent had short choppy hair, cut in a similar style as Ruby's, only with rich black roots that faded into silver with white highlights.

Aloy wore a white long coat that reminded the Heiress of Roman Torchwick's old jacket, only this one had silver fastenings. The coat was worn opened, revealing an embroidered royal blue suit vest that was over a black high colored button-down shirt. A stark white tie was worn around her neck and tucked into the vest, reminding Weiss of some of the more Atlesian fashions.

Before Aloy had turned to face Weiss, the Heiress noticed an embroidered emblem that was stitched on the back of Aloy's long coat. It was the same one as the keychain that hung off Yearning Heart. The black and blue symbol had contrasted harshly against the white of the coat, the emblem being a stylized black heart with a fleur-de-lis at its base. The heart was outlined in royal blue that also made up the thorn-like pattern that crossed in an 'X' through the heart.

Now facing the fighter across the arena, Weiss noticed that this same emblem could also be seen on Aloy's front, crafted as silver metal buckle which held in place a wide black leather belt that slanted over her right shoulder and across her body. The cross-body strap connected with a similar belt that was pulled taught over narrow hips and crisp white pants which were tucked into high black boots. The belts were fastened over Aloy's blue vest, but were tucked under her coat so that her heart-shaped emblem stitched on the back was unobstructed from view.

Weiss stared at the woman before her as something glinted in the lights on her uniform, caused by Aloy shifting her weight from one foot to another.

 _'Are those keychains?'_ Weiss eyes narrowed as she stared at the belt that wrapped over Aloy's right shoulder. Upon further inspection, the objects that flashed every time Aloy moved were indeed from small keychains that were fastened in rows down the length of the cross-body belt. Each keychain clasped in such a way that their silver chains created a small drooping loop from the claps to where the metal insignias were pinned in place. From far way the keychains look like medals, giving the stylish appearance an overall effect of a military uniform. Weiss' eyes were locked on the highest placed keychain, whose symbol looked familiar; a large golden circle with two smaller slightly matching circles off-set on its top. Weiss frown as she stared at the golden emblem, unable to remember where she has recognized the stylized circlet.

After a few moments of unabashed staring, Weiss tore her eyes off her opponent. Cut to form, it was a rather dashing look on the Keyblade wielder. Too bad there wasn't much time for admiration for the outfit, nor its wearer.

"Like what you see, Ice Princess?" To the Heiress' surprise, Aloy's grimace had turned to a smirk as the young woman drew her Keyblade from her side; the elongated movement making the attached keychains shimmer in the bright lights, catching Weiss' eyes to their general area.

"You wish," Weiss scoffed. "I was merely admiring the mouse head on your chest. Where did you get it from, a child?"

"It was a gift from a King, if you must know." Aloy reached out with her left hand to briefly touch the keychain's golden emblem. The Keyblade wielder's face darkened as they spun their weapon from one hand to the next, testing its balance once more before the start of the match. The fluidity at which Aloy moved her heavy weapon was an impressive display of dexterity and athleticism that impressed the Heiress. After staring at the ease in which Aloy maneuvered her weapon, Weiss was forced to believe that perhaps she was in for more of a challenge then she fist believed.

Aloy glanced over at the stands where she locked eyes with someone unseen by the Heiress. Aloy's eyes flickered with some hidden emotion before she scowled, as she seemed to be reminded of her previous strife. "But enough distractions, I have a task that I must complete. I'm afraid I don't have time for any more pleasantries." As the Keyblade user spoke, her eyes darkened and narrowed so that her irises flashed like steel from across the platform.

 _'What's wrong with her?'_ Weiss thought to herself, as the switch between Aloy's behaviors was giving her whiplash. But before the Heiress could voice her concerns the speakers boomed to life once more.

 **"Combatants, are you ready?"** Dr. Oobleck asked over the speakers.

Weiss withdrew her own blade and twirled it in the air so that the tip pointed to Aloy, before arching Mytenaster in an intricate display of movement towards the audience and up to the press box, before dipping into an elaborate curtsy.

When Weiss straightened her pose to face her opponent, the Heiress was surprised to see her challenger match her blade work in her own version of a complex salute: Aloy spun her Keyblade with her left hand, before bringing Yearning Heart into a sweeping low arch, only to use the momentum to toss the blade behind her back and catch it with her right hand. Aloy then stopped the blade in an upright position so that the Keyblade gleamed in the stadium's harsh lights as the weapon pointed towards Weiss.

The Huntress was unnerved in that fact that during this entire demonstration, Aloy's eyes never broke from her own stare, relying on muscle memory to perform the complex maneuvers.

_'… Shit.'_

**"What a beautiful display of good sportsmanship. Ladies and gentlemen, we are in for a treat tonight. Let's give them a show of thanks with a round of applause."**

The crowd roared their approval at Professor Port's words in a deafening wall of sound.

**"Combatants, the match will begin in: Three…"**

_'Okay, Weiss… Remember your training. Back straight, shoulders back, front foot forward. Aloy's clearly taller than you and her Keyblade looks to be heavier, so use that to your advantage.'_ Weiss ran the mental list through her head as she waited for the countdown to continue. She felt her body naturally shift into a perfect beginning pose as she slightly adjusted her hips into position for a better push off. _'Perfect.'_

**"Two..."**

The Huntress watched with keen eyes as Aloy mirrored her stance, albeit a bit wider to accommodate her height. Her Keyblade gleamed in the stadium's lights as Aloy adjusted her grip on the weapon, the wicked-looking blade stretched out in front of her. Angled to the right, Aloy's body was in perfect counter-position to Weiss' left-handed beginning stance.

**"One..."**

Weiss' eyes left Aloy to quickly glance to the side of the stands where she knew her friends and teammates were seated. Her heart warmed as she noticed a bright flash of red that contrasted harshly to the tall figure in white. But before Weiss could focus her gaze, she turned her attention back to her opponent. Weiss let go of a breath of air she hadn't realized that she had been holding as she felt her shoulders relax a fraction of a second before the last of the countdown was reached.

**"Begin!"**

Weiss and Aloy charged across the raised platform in streaks of white, their movements only a blur of color as they swung their weapons in a devastating blow. The young fighters seemed to dance around the arena as flashes of sparks flew through the air; steel meeting steel in a clang of metal. They traded blows with a speed that made them blurred to the naked eye, only the bright flash of sparks and clanging of metal informed the audience that their blows where equally matched.

"Wow! Look at them go! You can hardly tell them apart from up here." Nora exclaimed as she shoved her now empty bucket of popcorn into her partner's waiting hands. She then jumped from her seat to lean over towards the center of the arena.

"I've never seen blade work like Aloy's before." Jaune stated in awe, before awkwardly glancing over to Pyrrha. "Ahh… No offense, Pyrrha."

"None taken." Pyrrha commented as she too was enraptured by the Keyblade wielder's skill. "Aloy is clearly skilled."

"She is a nearly flawless Keyblade wielder," Haruka answered as her eyes stayed locked on her partner below, a hint of a smile on her worried face. "You will find that no matter how flashy her moves may appear, there is no energy that is wasted in her technique. Each movement is precise with the exact level of force needed for each strike and spin so that she can do twice the attacks without tiring."

Pyrrha turned so that she caught Haruka's attention. "You said that Aloy's technique is _nearly_ flawless, but surely your friend has faults?"

Haruka nodded. "Certainly, as does everyone. After all, no one is perfect. But in a fight… She has only one that your friend could exploit. But Aloy would never let it get that far for a simple tournament match."

Winter leaned forward in her seat, lacing her gloved fingers together in thought as she analyzed the fight in current time. "Weiss doesn't have the endurance to match Aloy hit-for-hit. She needs to try to finish this quickly before she tries out."

"I've been working with Weiss on her speed and Yang has helped her endurance." Ruby replied as she watched her partner conjure a glyph to jump away from a particularly hard swing of Aloy's Keyblade. "She should be able to hold her own long enough to figure out a counter-technique."

Ruby paused long enough to watch Aloy use one of Weiss' glyphs against her. The Keyblade wielder used the remaining gravity glyph to jump in the air and push off the black circular surface towards Weiss, who in turn, cart-wheeled just out of reach. Weiss changed the dust chambers in her rapier before firing small burst of fire across the stage, keeping Aloy at a distance.

"That's only if she stays out of reach of Aloy's weapon." Ruby continued.

Winter nodded. "Her opponent seems to be a primarily close-range fighter. Weiss' best chance at winning is long ranged attacks via Dust and her glyphs until she can find an opening for her summons."

Aloy charged Weiss in a blur of white and blue, her Keyblade flashed in the light as she attacked in a burst of slashes in rapid succession at her unsuspecting opponent. Weiss blocked her blade with her own, using her right hand to create a white glyph beneath her feet. She jumped away in a backwards summersault to avoid Aloy, who swung her Keyblade down in the place Weiss had stood a fraction of a second beforehand.

Weiss' glyph had given her the time she needed to rotate on the spot twice before slamming Myrtenaster into the steel surface of the platform. A wall of ice burst from the tip of the blade and spread out in wave of ice shards, forcing the Keyblade wielder to jump into a barrel roll away from the impending spikes.

Using Aloy's dodge as a distraction, Weiss quickly activated several light blue glyphs. The Heiress shouted as she spun her right hand, her movements firing five ice Dust missiles at the Keyblade wielder. Aloy widened her stance as she stood her ground against the barrage of ice missiles aiming to hit her all at once. Yearning Heart was forced into a rapid spin, the blade slicing apart the ice projectiles a hair's breadth before they pierced through Aloy's Aura.

There was a brief pause in the fight as the combatants stood still, their chests moving rapidly to gasp for breath; although it was clear to the audience that Weiss was more worn-out than Aloy. The brief hiatus of the fight seemed surprisingly serene as the air seemed to shimmer, the broken ice Dust missiles showering the fighters in a light dusting of snow.

 **"What a beautiful display of technique by both competitors!"** Professor Port's words broke the tranquil scene before them as both women shifted their weapons back into fighting position.

 **"Indeed, truly stunning work!"** Dr. Oobleck quickly agreed.

"Come on, Weiss. You're doing great." Ruby muttered mostly to herself as she perched on the edge of her seat. "Hang in there, partner."

Weiss took the reprise to catch her breath as she quickly flicked her eyes over at the holo-screen showing that her Aura was depleting rapidly, but still remaining well above the danger zone. The Heiress slowly shifted her right foot forward as she saw Aloy adjust the grip of her Keyblade. Neither fighter moved as they tensed their muscles for the next incoming attack.

After several seconds anxiously passed, it was Weiss who finally broke the unspoken stalemate. Forming a string of white glyphs in a semi-circle, Weiss used the track made by her Semblance to shoot around the Keyblade wielder in a blur of speed, hoping to catch Aloy off guard from behind.

Aloy's steely blue eyes tracked her movement until Weiss was directly behind her. Without warning Aloy turned on the spot, sweeping Yearning Heart into a wide arch at Weiss' exposed midriff. Weiss summoned a white glyph in perfect tandem of her jump, so that the sharp curve of the Keyblade passed harmlessly beneath her feet.

Time seemed to slow down as Weiss effortlessly evaded the sweeping blade, her face inches away from Aloy's as the other fighter had leaned into her strike. Weiss' Aura hummed in response to the other woman's proximity, the short white hairs on her arms standing on end as Weiss focused on the buzzing sensation that almost overwhelmed her. The faintest white glow of her Aura surround her, and much to her surprise, Aloy's own Aura flashed white in response before fading. The action was so brief, Weiss wondered if it was just a trick of the stadium lights, never having seen her Aura react such a way before during battle.

But the Heiress had no time to dwell on the strange phenomenon as she quickly created a black gravity glyph under her feet, effectively blocking Aloy's counter-strike and acting as a surface to jump off Aloy's swinging Keyblade. While jumping off Aloy's blade, Weiss simultaneously trapped Aloy's feet with an identical gravity glyph that forced the older woman to remain immobile. Knowing that the effects of the gravity glyph were only temporary, Weiss used Aloy's momentum from her attack to fling herself across the stage and temporarily out of harm's way, casting a golden glyph at her landing zone.

The moment her feet touched down on stage, the golden glyph at her feet formed a large circle with moving gears that turned into a large clock face. The hour and minute hands on the clock began to spin rapidly clockwise. The whirling of the clock's hands created a low thrumming sound in addition to the wind picking up around Weiss, as she used her right hand to create a circle of white glyphs to surround Aloy. The Keyblade wielder struggled to move her feet, but they remained grounded to the arena's flooring.

Weiss paused for a few precious moments as her body bathed in golden light, allowing the time dilation technique to reach full effect, before using the additional time to speed up her movements. The gravity glyph at Aloy's feet dissipated just as Weiss shot forward and struck her opponent with her rapier, only to bounce off one of her glyphs and change direction to land another strike on the Keyblade wielder; each hit slowly chipping away at Aloy's Aura. A small dust cloud formed from the speed of Weiss' attacks, Aloy unable to defend herself from the relentless assault.

The Huntress was a blur of white as her time dilation technique allowed her to reach and rebound off each white glyph, thus allowing her to strike at Aloy at all angles in a deviating attack. Aloy was thrown into the air as she was struck at all sides, before one final hit forced her to be flung at the far side of the floating stage. The audience seemed to collectively hold their breath as it appeared the Keyblade wielder would be knocked out of the arena.

Aloy's body flew through the air at an alarming rate before she threw her Keyblade into the ground several feet in front of her at the edge of the stage, the curved heart-shaped teeth of the blade biting into the steel flooring panels. Aloy twisted so that her feet landed on the neck and handle of the Keyblade, her body hunched over as the force of her unorthodox landing pushed the Keyblade a foot back in a deafening screech as the Damascus steel of Yearning Heart cut into the metal flooring.

The dust kicked up from Weiss' attack settled, revealing Aloy with her back straightened, balancing perched on top of her Keyblade less than an inch from the floating platform's edge.

Aloy grimaced as her Aura shimmered pure white as the protective life-force lost part of its strength from Weiss' assault. But what drew everyone's eye in the stadium was in Aloy's left hand a new weapon had appeared in flash of bright sunlight.

Weiss recognized the weapon as another Keyblade, the design catching her eye as she took in this new development. The blade had double shafted steel rods, the cross guard forming a small heart before faring out around the handle into two angel wings. The teeth of the Keyblade were comprised of a steel heart that merged with a seven-pointed star that faded from bright neon blue to a rich gold. Hanging off the handle's end was a small star keychain made of small pink and yellow shells tied with a small blue bird's feather.

The Keyblade was as beautiful as it appeared dangerous.

_'… Double shit.'_

Back up in the stands Titus leaned forward in his seat and rubbed his eyes against the light that radiated from Aloy's new blade.

"Aloy's using Oathkeeper!? Oh, your friend is so screwed…" Titus jeered as he smirked over at the girls sitting behind him.

Blake shifted in her seat as she took in the two Keyblades, her eyes shifting from the blade stuck in the ground that Aloy was balancing on, and the one now residing in her left hand. "What Keyblade was she using before?"

Before Titus could speak, he was cut off by his quieter partner. "Its name is Ya'arburnee." Ryu spoke, his accent thick as he spoke the foreign sounding name.

"But Yearning Heart is easier to remember." Titus shrugged as he turned back towards the match below.

Ryu slowly nodded in agreement. "Yes, as it is the blade's common-tongue name. Aloy rarely uses Oathkeeper and Yearning Heart together. She must find your teammate a worthy opponent."

Winter laced her fingers as she watched this new development. "Come one Weiss, this is no different than my sword and dagger technique. Keep a steady head, little sister…You know what you need to do." Winter muttered under her breath.

Ruby glanced over at the older Schnee sibling. "Is Weiss going to be okay? You've been training with her the last few days, but I'm not sure if she knows how to counter this."

Winter's eyes observed the two fighters below before nodding. "Yes, she'll be fine. Weiss still has a few tricks up her sleeve… One I've been working on with her diligently. As long as she gives herself enough time for the technique, she should be able to get back the upper hand."

Weiss adjusted her grip on Myrtenaster, feeling anxious at the appearance of the second Keyblade. She had been prepared to face Aloy with one blade, but two?! Weiss scowled as she tried to think of a new strategy to counteract the duel Keyblader wielder.

 _'This isn't good. Come on, Weiss… Think –Think!'_ Weiss' thoughts on battle tactics whirled in her head as she quickly took in the scene before her. Weiss was skilled with a blade and could hold her own against a master blade wielder like Aloy, but the black and silver-haired woman was secretly a duel swordsman, which meant that Weiss was underhanded in a hand-to-hand combat style match.

 _'My earlier strategy of using glyphs and Dust-based attacks seemed to work, so I guess I'll just have to try to keep her at a distance until I can think of something.'_ The Heiress narrowed her eyes as she observed the Keyblade wielder. _'I need to be able to engage Aloy in close combat without being actually near her, that way she'll be distracted by the assault as I look for an opening to take her out… But how can I do that without getting near those blades? ...That's it! This isn't practicing with Winter anymore, but I should have enough Aura for this. I just need a little more time!'_

Weiss nodded to herself as she raised Myrtenaster to point at her opponent. Without warning Weiss changed to the white crystals in her Dust chamber and swung out with her blade creating a large wave of wind, followed by casting three light blue glyphs that fired short blasts of ice Dust missiles, hoping to push the Keyblade wielder off the stage's platform. But Aloy held her ground using Oathkeeper to quickly cut down the Dust missiles, all the while remaining balanced on the other Keyblade.

Aloy flashed a brief smirk before executing a perfect horizontal spinning summersault off the grounded Keyblade. While still in midair, Aloy stretched out with her right foot, hooking the handle of Yearning Heart onto her boot. As her left foot touches the ground, Aloy used the momentum of her spin to push off the ground again and launched Yearning Heart forward with her right foot; the Keyblade flying through the air like a javelin targeted on Weiss' surprised face.

Weiss raised her weapon to block the flying Keyblade, barely bringing her own blade up in time – let along cast a glyph for a shield. The Damascus steel deflected off Myrtenaster, Weiss having redirected the Keyblade centimeters from her face causing a few small bangs to be sliced off.

Weiss didn't have time to reflect on her almost decapitation, for while she had blocked Aloy's attack, Aloy had run in a wide circle opposite Weiss' position to collect the deflected Yearning Heart with her right hand, Oathkeeper posed for the attack in her left.

With a mighty yell Aloy launched herself into the air, rotating on the way down so that both of her Keyblades slashed at the Heiress in a spinning wheel of blades. They traded blows in a dance of flashing steel: Weiss jabbing at defensive openings and using glyphs to deflect any other stray hit, while Aloy rushed the Huntress with slashing combos of elaborate blade work. Aloy was ruthless in her attacks thrusting forward with Oathkeeper only to be followed up with a diagonal vertical strike from Yearning Heart. Weiss parried with Myrtenaster, having to create a glyph in her right hand to protect her palm from her own blade's edge as she reached out on the length of her blade to block double vertical hits from above. Aloy's Keyblades rebounded off the two handed guard, only to use the kinetic energy transferred from the blow to spin her blades by their handles and strike out in duel slashes.

With each attack Aloy's speed increased as she effortless wielded both Keyblades in perfect unison. Weiss thought Aloy was dangerous before with one Keyblade, but now Aloy was almost unstoppable. In a last ditch effort to keep up with the whirlwind of blades, Weiss cast another time dilation glyph at her feet to help speed up her defensive parries before casting a gravity glyph to catch Aloy's next strike in mid-air. This disruption of Aloy's advance allowed Weiss to summersault away from the silver-haired woman.

Not wanting to wait a moment as Aloy's Keyblade was still stuck in place with Weiss' glyph, she closed her eyes in concentration and twirled Myrtenaster so that the blade faced towards the sky before twisting on her legs and slamming the blade point first into the stage. The moment the tip of the rapier touched the floor, a brilliant white glyph formed – a beast of pure light roared as it was brought into existence. The summoned Boarbatusk snorted loudly as it pawed a hoof into the platform before charging the stuck fighter.

 **"What's this?! Weiss Schnee is using the ultimate form of her Semblance: the hereditary ability of Grimm summoning!"** Professor Port voice boomed over the roar of the crowd as the audience cheered for the Huntress from Beacon.

 **"Indeed, the amount of focus and Aura control needed to complete a summoning of this size during a fight is simply amazing. I wonder if this will be the last of this technique we see from Miss Schnee tonight?"** Dr. Oobleck stated to his podium partner.

The gravity glyph holding Aloy in place dissipated just as she was struck by the white and blue beast. Aloy's eyes widened as she jumped into a barrel roll to avoid the tusks and spines on its back as the summoned Grimm jumped into a spiraling body roll, the Boarbatusk's spines carving up the steel of the platform in its wake.

"Whoa! Your friend's a summoner too?!" Titus shouted as he pointed towards the glowing Grimm that was being knocked to the side by Aloy's duel blades in a mid-air strike, only to change directions and charge the jumping Keyblade wielder.

Blake leaned forward in her seat to catch the attention of the youngest member of Team HART. "What do you mean by _'too'?"_

Before the young boy could answer, their attention was drawn back to the fight below as Aloy jumped to the far side of the platform, only to land in a semi-kneeling position and thrust Yearning Heart into the floor and turning the Keyblade to the side.

For a tense moment, nothing seemed to happen as Aloy bowed her head as she kneeled before the long white-haired Huntress and her summoned Grimm. Suddenly the wind picked up, Aloy's short silvery hair and white long coat whipping around in the storm. All of a sudden Aloy was cast in a rainbow of light as the blinding glow of a kaleidoscope of colors emitted from the base of the Keyblade, the colored lights forming a circular panel of stained glass.

Weiss gasped as Aloy rose to reveal the elaborate fractal mosaic that revolved at her feet, the stained glass casting the Keyblade wielder in a mystical glow.

_'This all seems familiar, like a far off memory… Where have I seen this before?'_

The colorful images triggered something in the far reaches of her mind: vague memories of colorful stained glass, a mosaic of light surrounded by shadows, the image captured in the glass was someone she should know…

_'Ruby, maybe? No. That didn't seem right…'_

It was right on the tip of her tongue. The memory blurring in her mind… Or was it a dream?

Weiss was startled back to reality as the stained glass dais was obscured with wisps of shadows, the vapor forming into dozens of pitch black humanoid-like creatures that crawled out of the stained glass portal. The creatures came up to Aloy's waist with each shadow-being having glowing yellow eyes, two tendril-like ears, and small sharp fingers.

Weiss continued to stare in a mix of awe and horror as each creature turned to scratch at Aloy's hands, the exposed skin being cut with razor thin cuts that oozed blood down her finger-tips. Once the Shadows had taken their toll of flesh, their glowing yellow eyes turned to fixate on the shocked Heiress and her glowing summon – the Grimm feeling the nervous shift of Weiss' Aura at the appearance of the shadow creatures. The summoned Grimm pawed the ground as Weiss stood fixated on the bizarre scene before her.

 **"Ladies and Gentleman, I believe we are witnessing Aloy's Semblance: Shadow Swarm!"** Professor Oobleck eagerly shouted over the roar of the audience.

Ryu shook his head slowly, his eyes never wavering from his teammate's glowing form. "They are wrong, that is not Aloy's Semblance."

"I had to put something down on the registration forms." Titus argued as he turned to glare at his partner in exasperation.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Winter asked as she crossed her arms, a deep frown gracing her stern face.

"So that's where the Ice Queen picked up that line from." Yang chuckled to Blake, as Winter shot her a withering look. Yang had the sense to look away and appear sheepish at being overheard.

"You could have at least picked a better name for her summons." Haruka commented.

Titus shrugged. "I was pressed for time, okay? Sorry I suck at naming things. I kind of had my hands full with the paperwork, because _someone_ refused to help!" He shot his partner a sarcastic look.

Ryu shrugged. "You had it handled."

The spectators in the stands were distracted as Aloy's summons had reached the point where the shadow creatures covered almost the entire stage. Removing Yearning Heart from the flooring with a flourish, Aloy pointed her Keyblade at the stunned Heiress as the mass swam of Shadows turn their beady yellow eyes at the Grimm summon and surged forward in a mass of darkness. The white Boarbatusk thrashed around violently, trying to throw off the creatures of darkness, but to no avail. Within seconds the summoned Grimm was overpowered and dissolved into thin air. As if they were of one mind, the Shadows turned their heads so that their gazes focused solely on Weiss, who had taken a step back at the destruction of her Grimm.

Weiss flicked Myrtenaster so that the Dust cartage switched to red. Running two fingers down the length of her blade to ignite the Dust, her blade turn bright red having caught on fire. With a loud cry, Weiss slashed her burning blade through the air towards Aloy's summons. They burst into clouds of darkness once the flames reached them, unable to withstand the heat of the waves of flames.

Weiss glanced over at the holo-sceen and noticed that her Aura was only twenty points away from the danger zone. She would have to be careful to finish the match before she lost all of her Aura.

Something flickered in her peripheral vision prompting Weiss to raise her rapier to block the incoming attack. It was her Huntress instincts that allowed her to block Aloy's right side-swipe, but in doing so Weiss had made the grave error of forgetting Aloy's second Keyblade, which had been turned mid-stick so the flat side of Oathkeeper hit the white-haired girl in the side of the head.

Weiss fell to the ground as her vision swam with dark spots, a pounding headache threatening to disable the Huntress. She glanced down at her body as she noticed her white Aura flicker around her, threatening to shatter at the next major hit. Aloy advanced slowly, a deep grimace crossed her face as she stared down at the dazed Huntress, her Keyblades held aloof at her side showing the woman's growing fatigue.

Aloy approached so that she was only a foot away from the downed Huntess. She gestured with Yearning Heart, so that the Keyblade's sharp point was inches away from Weiss' throat. "I will only tell you this once: Stay down."

Weiss swallowed harshly, her eyes never leaving the cool steely gaze of the older woman above her. "I'm not giving up yet." Weiss proclaimed as she spotted Myrtenaster lying several inches to the left of Keyblade wielder's feet. Aloy scowled at the Heiress' show of defiance.

"Then you're a fool." Aloy growled as she lifted her duel weapons, poised for a final attack. Aloy took a step forward, but before she could strike, her eyes widened in shock and her hands trembled.

"Zyun?" Aloy stared down at Weiss in growing confusion. The older woman glanced away and shook her head. "No, he's not here… Just a trick of the light." The Keyblade wielder seemed to reassure herself, before lifting her weapons and pointed them back at the Huntress who lay before her. "I'm sorry…"

Before Aloy could strike down at Weiss, the Huntress recalled a defensive move Yang had showed her during their last practice bout in Professor Goodwitch's combat class. She had very little practice perfecting the move, but as Yang says, there's no time quite like the present. Shifting her weight onto her right leg, Weiss kicked out with her left foot in a large arch, effectively sweeping Aloy's right leg from under her.

"Hell yeah! I taught her that. Way to go, Weiss!" Yang yelled from the stands as Weiss used a white glyph to summersault away from her downed opponent.

"Nice trick, but you'll need more than that to stop me, Schnee!" Aloy grunted as she regained her balance. Weiss raised her weapon to strike, but hesitated when she noticed Aloy's pupils blowing wide, the woman looking at Weiss, but not really seeing her.

"Aloy?" Weiss' worried voice seemed to go unheard as the Keyblade wielder stabbed both of her weapons into the ground and used her free hands to grasp at her eyes.

"Get a hold of yourself, Aloy. He's not there. They have him… He's not here." Aloy muttered.

"Aloy! Snap out of it!" Weiss shouted as she pointed her rapier at the crazed older woman. "Do we need to call the match?"

"No, no… I need more time. Stop it! I said STOP!" Aloy yelled, before grabbing her Keyblades and running in full sprint at Weiss, a manic glaze over her steel blue eyes.

"What the –" Weiss jumped out of the way as Aloy's blades hissed through the air centimeters from her face. Using the momentum of her dodge, she flicked her Dust cartridge to revolve until it landed on light blue. Slashing her blade to the side, Weiss created a large barrier of ice blocking Aloy's next attack. The Heiress flipped Myrtenaster so that the tip slammed into the ground. As soon as the blade hit the floor, a large spiraling glyph appeared where a giant white Alpha Beowolf crawled its way out of it.

"Wow! I didn't know Weiss got so good at summoning!" Yang yelled as she leaned forward in her seat, as to not miss any action down on the floating platform.

Winter smirked with pride. "She's been practicing with me. Weiss can summon more if she puts her mind to it."

"Something's wrong."

Winter glanced away to look over at her sister's partner who had spoken in a confused tone.

"Aloy's attacks are becoming more erratic. But I don't think it's from fatigue, she seems… angry, or maybe confused?" Ruby commented as she gripped the sides of her chair until her knuckles turned white.

"Weiss will be okay, Ruby." Blake assured her leader. "I'm sure it's just an adrenaline rush."

Ruby shook her head. "I'm telling you, something doesn't seem right. But I'm not sure what. I've just got this feeling right here." Ruby placed a fist over her stomach as she watched Aloy dodge Weiss' advancing Beowolf.

Their attention was drawn back to the Keyblade user as she used Yearning Heart to block the snapping jowls of the Alpha Beowolf. Flipping Oathkeeper with her left hand, Aloy slammed the blade into the ground while still fighting off the Grimm. Within seconds the beautiful mosaic of stained glass had returned, as a dark humanoid being emerged from the pulsating platform. Aloy pulled Oathkeeper from the ground so that she could use both weapons to knock Weiss' summon to the side, giving her enough time to give herself some breathing room.

Weiss widened her stance and held her ground as she faced Aloy's new summon, but what she saw only continued to confuse the Heiress. Aloy's summon was a humanoid creature made from the same pitch black darkness as the previous Shadows, but this being appeared as copy of Aloy herself.

Back in the stands, Nora jumped from her seat, catching the attention of the two teams below. "Wow! Your friend is really not pulling any punches."

"You are right in your concern, Ruby." Haruka's eyes narrowed as she took in the form of Aloy's latest summon. "Something's wrong... She would never summon that for a simple match."

Ryu nodded. "A Heartless of that size and strength would cost Aloy far too much…"

"A what?" Blake asked, having heard the termed used to describe Aloy's summons.

"Aloy can summon creatures of pure darkness, similar to your Grimm. We call them Heartless, as they do not possess a heart… Nor a soul." Haruka explained as she observed the Heartless duplicate of Aloy slowly approach the original summoner. The Heartless' copy of Oathkeeper held at the ready in its left hand, while the shadow Yearning Heart dragged on the stage with an eerie screech of steel on the stage's metal flooring.

Haruka's eyes narrowed at the sight of the approaching Heartless that was slowly advancing on her partner. "But to do so costs her greatly. What are you thinking, Aloy?" The last part was spoken in lower tones mostly to herself, as the leader of Team HART observed the shocking scene below, along with the people seated around her.

Aloy held out her left arm to the approaching Heartless, who in turn used their sinister Keyblade to slash at the offered flesh. The Heartless' attack pierced through Aloy's Aura without resistance, as easily as the smaller Shadows had with their own marks. The white sleeve of Aloy's coat turned red as the gash below the cloth seeped blood through the thick material.

Weiss took a step back as her Beowolf growled at the two opposing Keyblade users. Without warning Aloy and her Heartless took off in a blur of color as each being ran in opposite directions towards the Huntress and her glowing summon. Aloy jumped over towards her summon double who used their blades to push the real Aloy further into the air. She then used the momentum of her fall to turn into a dangerous spiral of blades aimed at Weiss – the Heartless Aloy pivoting to face the ghostly Grimm.

Aloy slashed in a spinning wheel of blades, the Heiress using Myrtenaster to block the two Keyblades aimed at her head. Weiss spared no thought towards her Grimm summon as she focused on the blue and white blur before her. She knew that if her focus was continuously distracted by the real Keyblade user, then her summon would not last long against the Heartless copy's assault. It was when using a gravity glyph to help block a blow, that Weiss noticed the open wound on Aloy's left arm was slowing down her attacks by a fraction of a second.

Seeing her opening, Weiss timed her attack so as Aloy thrusted forward with Oathkeeper, followed up with a diagonal vertical strike from Yearning Heart, Weiss parried with Myrtenaster and used her right arm to grab the arm holding Oathkeeper through its thrust. Weiss turned her body with the forward motion of the strike so that she stepped into Aloy's attack and brought the pummel of her own blade into the gash along Aloy's arm.

Aloy screamed in pain as her Aura flashed white at the blow to her arm, causing her to instinctively drop Oathkeeper to the floor. Weiss tried to jump away while the older woman was distracted, only for Aloy to grab Weiss by her ankle and slam the Huntress into the ground using brute force. Weiss hit the ground with enough power that she lost her breath, Myrtenaster clamoring from her grasp and her Aura flashed around her from the blow.

Weiss' Alpha Beowolf fared no better as the giant beast attacked the humanoid Heartless, only for both summons to disappear into the air as bursts of colored mists. Aloy and Weiss panted heavily, their summons having disintegrated since their summoners had taken too much damage to sustain Aura to their existence.

Aloy was the first to rise, blood dripping freely from her left sleeve as she bent down to grab her forgotten Keyblade. Weiss gasped for breath as she scrambled for her blade, only for it to be kicked aside by the Keyblader wielder. Aloy raised her Keyblades so that the razor sharp edges were a matter of inches from Weiss' throat. Once again Weiss found herself in a precarious situation, only Aloy hadn't made the mistake this time of leaving her front foot forward, and Weiss found herself without the physical strength to fight back.

Yearning Heart shook in Aloy's hand as she pointed the blade down towards her fallen opponent. The audience took a collective gasp as she raised her blade up high for a devastating strike, only to stop with her blade held in the air.

"No… I refuse." Aloy lowered her blades to her side, her defeated form still towering over Weiss who was sprawled on the stage. The Heiress let out a deep breath she didn't know she had been holding as she watched the manic gleam fade out from Aloy's eyes.

Without warning the Keyblade wielder whipped her head to the side, her gaze fixed on something not within sight. Her pupils were blown so wide until there was only a small sliver of blue around orbs of black, sweat littered her borrow while her breaths came out in gasps. Aloy's hands shook until she dropped both of her blades, only to screw her eyes shut and grasp at either side of her head.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Aloy's shouts broke through the cheers of the crowd, startling the white-haired Huntress.

Weiss scrambled away, scooping up her rapier, but held it away from Aloy, not wanting to spook the silver-haired woman. "What's going on?!"

"Enough of this… We need more time."A sudden calm washed over the older woman as Aloy bent down to grab her blades, ignoring frightened look on her opponent's face. When Aloy next spoke, her words echoed as if joined by a chorus of voices.

_"A scattered dream that's like a far-off memory…"_

Aloy took a step towards the stunned Heiress and swung Yeaning Heart upward so that the blade pointed towards the open sky in front of her face, Oathkeeper crossed over her other blade facing to her right. Turning the blades in a flashing spiral, Aloy pointed her weapons so that Yearning Heart now pointed left while Oathkeeper was spun to face downwards in a reverse grip. As soon as the movements were completed, a large golden glowing symbol formed at her feet in the style of the four cardinal points on a compass rose. Using only gentle movements of her wrists, the Keyblades rotated in opposite directions arching to form two semi-circles, the movements leaving an after image of blades.

_"… A far-off memory that's like a scattered dream."_

A low thrumming hum filled the air as the glowing compass rose began to spin so that the circular diagram expanded to form below both of their positions. As soon as Aloy spoke the second line of the incantation, bright white runes and symbols not found on Remnant formed within the glowing circle, lighting up the arena with their mysterious glow. As the spinning compass points reached their peak momentum, a large, neon blue stylized heart formed in the center of the luminescent glyph. With each rotation of the compass' points, the heart's symbol shone brightly as if it was gaining strength from the symbol's movement. Around the edge of the spiraling symbol a dark mist rose to form a cloud of darkness that crept over the platform's stage and filled the air with its shadows.

_"I want to line the pieces up…"_

Aloy slowly approached Weiss as each set of footsteps brought the Keyblade wielder closer to her challenger. Weiss' limbs felt heavy, as if no amount of struggling would have released her from the enchantment's hold. The world seemed to slow around them, the audience captured in time as all sound was muffled. It was as if a dial on the volume turned the stadium's sound down to the lowest setting. Aloy's hand reached out so that her fingertips were inches away from Weiss' sternum.

_"Yours…"_

Weiss' heart beat rapidly as Aloy's cold fingertips brushed over the exposed skin over her heart. This action created a blinding flash of light that cut through the clouds of darkness which surrounded them. The glowing diagram beneath their feet shone with the light of the sun, a spark of hope amongst the emergent desolation of the vast wasteland of darkness that threatened to envelope the arena.

_"… And mine."_

Weiss let out a silent scream as she felt herself fall backwards, but at the moment where her back should have hit the floor of the stage, her body passed straight through the metal. No light followed her on her transition to this other plane of existence. Her vision filled with darkness as she slowly fell to the unseen surface below – For the first time since enrolling at Beacon Academy, Weiss felt truly alone.

[-][-][-]

To the outside world, Weiss and Aloy had suddenly vanished in a flash of bright light. There was a collective gasp from the audience as just as suddenly as the events started, the two fighters were gone leaving behind only an arena consumed with darkness.

 **"What's going on? Where are the contenders?"** Professor Port could be heard on the speaker over the clamor of the crowd's growing confusion.

 **"Their Auras are not registering anymore!"** Dr. Oobleck shouted into his microphone.

 **"Will someone please tell me what is going on?!"** Professor Port's demanding voice boomed over the speakers as he turned around in his seat to yell at the technicians behind him.

"That's Aloy's Semblance." Ryu spoke softly, but his words were heard by the teams sitting behind him.

Ruby stared at the holo-screen, grimacing at the red flashing stats of both competitors that showed their Aura levels were no longer registering on the monitor. From watching the previous matches, Ruby knew that when a competitor was defeated their Aura would simply show a zero marker, not this weird flashing sequence.

Ruby turned to the team that sat below her, placing her hand on Titus' shoulder to grab his attention. "Where did they go?" But before the boy could answer her, he was interrupted by his team leader.

"Aloy took them to the Dive into the Heart." Haruka stated as she abruptly stood up and adjusted her Keyblade which was strapped over her right shoulder.

Winter stood up to confront the anxious looking team leader. "Where are you going?!"

Haruka nodded towards the announcer's press box and VIP section of the stands. "To stop the match – Aloy's going to get herself killed. At this rate, she might do the same to Weiss if I don't try to stop it." She turned around to face her teammates; Titus' face showing his growing concern while Ryu sat with his arms crossed, his expression one of seriousness. "Titus stay here. Ryu, you're in charge until I get back. I'm going to find the Headmaster."

The leader of Team HART took off through the stands as the students sitting in the audience watched her go, their confusion and concern for their friends growing by the second.

[-][-][-]

All of this was unknown to the Heiress as Weiss continued to drift down into the darkness that threatened to eradicate her existence. What light was left from the surface world turned to darkness as Weiss' body righted itself and floated down into place. The moment her foot touched the surface of wherever she was, a swarm of birds flew away revealing a radiant colored platform of stained glass.

The colored glass mosaic lit up the darkness in its brilliance, so much so that it took several moments for Weiss' eyes to adjust to the light and take in the colored scene that lay before her feet. She let out a small gasp as she recognized the woman pictured below her feet as Aloy.

The silver-haired woman was dressed similarly to as she was now, but unharmed and with a contemplative expression etched onto her face. Above her head were three smaller circular mosaics of the headshots of the other members of Team HART: Titus with his trademark smirk, Ryu's stern grimace with his dark hair tied in his signature topknot, and directly above them all laid Haruka with a small smile as she confidently looked down at her standing teammate. The stained glass form of Aloy was standing over what appeared to be her own shattered reflection, the imaged captured by either a mirror or pool of water unseen by the observer.

Weiss stepped closer to the image presented in front of her, wanting to take in as much detail as she could in the unknown period of time she would be trapped here. Indeed it was after a few more seconds of observation that Weiss found that she could not make out the features of the shadow that represented Aloy's reflection – nor could she see the features of the three other silhouettes that surrounded the shattered image of Aloy. Weiss felt unnerved as several things became apparent the longer she stared at the image captured in the stained glass. Aloy's reflection, while truthfully rather indistinct from the broken glass, did not seem to match Aloy's standing form; furthermore the three silhouettes surrounding this shattered likeness also did not resemble the members of Aloy's current team.

Weiss' mind was suddenly filled with flashes of a world filled with darkness, a different stained glass mosaic below her feet. That time, be it a memory or a dream, Weiss knew she wasn't alone… And while her memories were still chaotic, the Huntress knew she wasn't accompanied by Aloy during her last experience with this place.

"I've been here before…" Weiss took a step back in confusion. "Where are we?" Weiss' words seemed to echo slightly as she gazed around the room in wonder.

"We are in the Dive into the Heart… Somewhere far from your world."

To the Heiress' surprise the question was answered by someone standing on the opposite side of the glowing mosaic. After a few seconds of squinting, Weiss recognized the speaker as Aloy herself as she stared down at her likeness captured beneath her feet.

"What do you mean, _your world?"_ Weiss shook her head in confusion. "You talk as if you don't belong here."

Aloy looked away from her shattered reflection to lock eyes with the younger Huntress. "I don't. Not really anyway. This world is one of many, and it's in trouble."

"I don't understand… Why have you brought me here?" Weiss asked as she gestured around at the glowing mosaic below her feet.

"Because I'm desperate!" Aloy shouted, taking a sudden step forward before hanging her head in defeat. Her next words were spoken in a hushed whisper. "I don't know what to do."

"I – I don't understand." Weiss replied, barely taking note to how her voice shook as she answered the seemingly unstable fighter.

"Someone is messing with me head… Making me see things." Aloy answered, her now bloodied fingertips pressing on either side of her skull. "Horrible things…"

"Who is doing this to you?" Weiss asked as she strapped her weapon back to her side and held out her hands in what the Heiress hoped would be seen as a non-threatening manner. "What are they making you see?"

"I don't know what's going on, but they are making me see him, Zyun!" Aloy's eyes darted around as if expecting to see something or someone else with them. "They have Haruka' brother, Zyun. If I don't beat you, if I don't slow you down – if I don't try to _kill_ you, then they will kill him."

Weiss felt herself pale as she heard the orders given to the Keyblade wielder. No wonder the woman had seemed like such a mess before and during their match. "Who has him?"

"Those who control the Heartless." Aloy answered cryptically as she locked eyes with Weiss, ice blue eyes meeting wild steel blue. "Please, we don't have much time. I brought you here to talk, and while time is momentarily slowed down in your world, we only have minutes before the people who took Zyun know what I've done."

Weiss tightened her hands into fists as she stared at the disturbed fighter. Her Huntress training kicked in at the seriousness of the situation. "Aloy, I need you to try to calm down and concentrate. Who sent you to kill me?"

Aloy shook her head and seemed to harden her resolve. "A woman named Cinder and I suspect whoever is manipulating my mind – I'm not sure how, but they're making me see and hear things that are not there. Cinder had the mark of the Heartless on her, but I couldn't find the mind manipulator."

Very little of what was said made sense to the Huntress in training, but Weiss ignored her confusion for now as she attempted to gather as much information as possible from the distressed fighter.

"Are they here in the stadium?" Weiss asked, her mind simultaneously devising a plan to get word out to her teammates as soon as possible. They needed to know what was being said between them here in this strange void; although Weiss had a feeling that if she tried to record their conversation on her scroll, nothing would be picked up by the scroll's speakers. Her attention was drawn back to the Keyblade wielder who was now pacing over the spot directly above her likeness' glass head. The sight was rather unnerving, and while Weiss had a ton of questions about the image depicted in the stain glass at their feet, she had a feeling that now was not the time for such idle chit-chat.

"I'm not sure. Cinder found me before the match. She showed me a picture of Zyun on a cell phone-like devise." Weiss cocked her head in confusion at the unfamiliar term, but Aloy continued in her tirade before the white-haired girl could question the strange comment. "He seemed to be held in a place I didn't recognize, with his body surrounded by Heartless."

Now that caught Weiss' attention. The same term 'Heartless' had been used multiple times now and yet it still made no sense to the Huntress. "He's being held by what now?"

Aloy made a vague gesture towards her cut hands and bleeding arm. "Heartless… They are the same creatures of darkness I can summon." Aloy looked down at her bleeding arm. "Only the one's they control are far more ruthless than the ones I can use."

"Do you know why they want to kill me?" Weiss asked as she tried to keep a calm façade at the unnerving situation.

Aloy shook her head slowly. "She didn't tell me. It could be either used as a distraction, you could be a serious target for them, or it could be so that you wouldn't be involved in their future plans. Honestly, I don't know and I don't believe we'll have the luxury of finding out before it's too late."

 _'This is bad.'_ Weiss thought to herself, grabbing her chin while she took in all of this new information. "Okay, so what's the plan?"

Aloy shook her head. "I'm not sure. I couldn't think up a plan without somehow getting you involved, hence why I brought you here with me. Once it became clear that I would not be able to easily defeat you in a fight, I needed a few minutes with you alone and without the possibility of more casualties."

Weiss nodded at Aloy's logic, and yet scowled when she considered Aloy's methods of getting her here. _'Wherever here is…'_

"Very well, you have my attention now." Weiss replied, trying and failing at toning down the level of sass that could be heard in the comment.

Aloy flinched at the Heiress' sarcastic words. "I'm sorry, but I was getting desperate. Like I said, I was ordered to take you out – kill you if I could, or they would kill Zyun. And obviously I don't want to kill you…" Aloy paused in her movements as she glanced over at her companion.

"Thank you." Weiss replied, once again lacing her voice with sarcasm.

Aloy waved her off as she continued in her pacing. "From what I figured out, we need to put an end to this battle without having to murder one another. However, if I suddenly stop trying to harm you…"

"Our enemies will know something is up, if they don't already." Weiss finished Aloy's trailing thought.

"Exactly." Aloy slammed a fist into her hand, punctuating her word with the sudden action. "So we need to not only continue with the match, but I need to put on a show so that these Heartless users think I am using my full strength to take you out."

"Meanwhile, I need to try to get the attention of my teammates and sister so that we can warn them of our predicament." Weiss mirrored Aloy's stance as she considered her part of the plan.

"Can you do that? It's not like you can make a phone call in the middle of our fight." Aloy asked as she crossed her arms in question.

"I'm not sure what you mean by a phone call, but I have a system figured out with Winter just for things like this… Although I'll admit this would be the first time using it in battle." Weiss replied as she stared down briefly at her feet.

"But it will work?" Aloy asked as she tilted her head to better look at the younger girl before her.

"Yes." Weiss glanced away from her feet and nodded vigorously, already calculating the exact amount of Aura she would need to complete the task. She should have just enough to get Winter's attention. "And it will be discrete enough not to get anyone else's attention to what we are doing."

"Good. That's good." Aloy took a deep breath as she considered her options. "As for the match itself, we will need to be careful and calculating in our movements. There's one last summon I can use that will be enough to put on a show, but to do so will basically put me out of commission in terms of what you call Aura."

"Then we'll use it, whatever you got planned." Weiss nodded.

"Very well then, I will summon a Darkside for you to face. But just so you know, Schnee, I'm not going to tell you what it will look like, nor what will happen to me because of it, as we need your reaction to be genuine." Aloy stood still as she addressed the Heiress.

"How do you know you'll get the reaction you'll need from me?" Weiss placed her hands on her hips as she replied to the Keyblade user. "And why bother telling me your summon's name then?"

"Oh, I have no doubt your reaction will be genuine." Aloy smirked as she stared at the Huntress' unconvinced look. "And you should always know the name of your opponent, Schnee. After all, names have power in this world and in the next."

"Right… So in order to get us to get out of this alive, we'll need to take both of us out at the same time." Weiss reasoned, resting her hand on her chin again. The action was something she had unknowingly picked up from Ruby after their time as partners together.

Aloy nodded at Weiss' logic. "A double knockout. That way I have no way of further harming you, while you are still technically out of the way."

"You keep saying that… Out of the way. What do you mean by that?"

Aloy shrugged. "Again, I'm not entirely sure... But if they wanted you gone, it can mean nothing good."

Weiss nodded. "Alright, just try to avoid my face. I have enough scars there as is."

Aloy smiled at the Heiress' cheek. "You've got spirit, I like that Schnee. But I make no promises."

Weiss shook her head at the playful banter between them. "How do we get out of here?"

Aloy smiled as she walked up to the shorter girl, reaching for her with an outstretched hand. "Leave that to me."

[-][-][-]

Ruby and Winter both sat at the edge of their seats waiting for the women to appear out of the smoke-like darkness that obscured the arena. It had only been about a minute of time since they had been gone, but in Ruby's opinion that was one minute too long for her partner's absence – something Winter was quick to agree to with the younger Huntress. And yet there was nothing either person could do as Haruka had run off not too long ago, and neither member of Team HART would answer anyone's questions. From the sounds of their replies, they had never seen Aloy do something like this during a fight before. Unfortunately for the Beacon students and military soldier, there was nothing they could do but wait.

Suddenly, Jaune's voice broke their intense staring at the arena below. "Look at the holo-screens! They're registering again."

Sure enough the holo-screens which displayed each fighter's stats had stopped flashing red. Their Aura levels, while still very low, were suddenly working again. The darkness that engulfed the stage slowly dissipated away to reveal two forms which were now standing several yards apart.

"There they are! See Ren, I told you they would be fine." Nora's yelling could be heard over the shouts of the shocked spectators.

Ruby's body visibly relaxed as she spotted her partner down on the floating platform, looking a bit frazzled by the events that had just taken place, but otherwise unharmed. Before Ruby could relax complexly, the two fighters had full on charged at each other in blurs of white and blue, once again engaging the other in close combat.

"What's going on? It's like they weren't even fazed by what happened." Yang commented a few chairs away from her sister as the blonde watched her teammate with apparent confusion.

"Maybe nothing happened to them?" Blake responded as she watched Weiss form a glyph to jump out of the Keyblade's wicked reach.

"A trick of the light then?" Yang replied, not sounding all too convinced by her partner's words.

"No, something else going on." Winter stated, as she stared down at her sister. "Come on, Weiss… Give me something."

"What are you looking for?" Ruby turned to look at the Atlesian soldier who was staring intently at her sibling below. No sooner as the words left her mouth, than Weiss did something that captured their full attention. The white-haired girl had flipped away from a vicious blow to the head by Aloy, only to flare her Aura in three bursts of white light before landing some few feet away.

"Her Aura shattered? But I didn't see Weiss get hit." Blake stated as she narrowed her amber eyes towards the fight, her feline ears twitching below the tied bow.

"She wasn't hit. That was a signal for me." Winter replied. Closing her eyes in concentration, the older Schnee tapped into her Aura reserves so that her own Aura visibly flashed thrice in response. To anyone else watching, the responding action being performed by Winter would have gone unnoticed. But to the older Schnee sister, the message was loud and clear: _Contact has been established. Message ready to be received._

Winter wiped out her scroll as she trained her eyes on Weiss' right hand, which free from wielding Myrtenaster, was quickly tapping out a rhythm onto her thigh in rapid succession. Winter quickly typed out the corresponding taps into their translated text on her scroll, the crude Morse code appearing to look like a nervous tick coming from Weiss. The young Heiress continued to tap out a simplistic pattern on her leg while still fending off the skilled Keyblade fighter.

Once Winter realized Weiss' gestures were repeating themselves, she glanced down at her screen to see what the text spelled out: _P-E-T-P-U-P._

Ruby glanced over at Winter's screen. "What's Petpup?"

"I'm not sure." Winter frowned as she stared at the screen trying to see the message behind the code. "But it must be important if that's Weiss' message."

Ruby reached up with her left hand to rub her chin in thought. "Well, I don't know what Petpup means, but Puppet is also confusing."

"What do you mean by Puppet? Where did you get that?" Winter asked incredulously at the young Huntress seated next to her. The girl pointed out the text starting at the middle of the word.

"If you read the letters starting from here it spells out 'Puppet'." Ruby answered, oblivious to the bewilderment of the older soldier.

Winter shook her head as she flicked her gaze away from Ruby and over to Weiss' battle below.

"Puppet… Puppet… As in one of them is a puppet? Or a machine?" Ruby asked. "Not that I would know anyone like that…" Ruby continued to say, her voice trailing off suddenly.

Winter slowly shook her head. "I don't think it's meant to be literal."

Ruby let out a sigh of relief and nodded at the older woman's logic. "So one of them is acting like a puppet."

Winter nodded vigorously. "Exactly. I imagine she means Aloy in the case. We can assume then Aloy's actions, or perhaps the reasoning behind them, are not her own." Winter once again closed her eyes in concentration as she flared her Aura twice in bursts of white. Weiss would surely be keeping an eye out for her sister's response, or if not, her own Aura should feel Winter's Aura being activated even from such a great distance. The greater the bond between people, the more their Aura would recognize the other's Aura. It was a strange phenomenon, but in this case it might just as well save someone's life.

Down at on the floating platform, Weiss breathed a quick sigh of relief as she felt Winter's white Aura flash back twice in their secret code: _Message received._

Weiss' attention was jerked back to the present as Aloy's blade, Yearning Heart, sliced through the air centimeter's from her face. The strike only having missed because of Weiss' engrained training that made her instinctively duck away from the glancing blow.

"You cannot run from me forever, Schnee!" Aloy shouted towards her fleeing opponent as Weiss used a white glyph to flip away from a follow-up slash with Oathkeeper. Knowing that Aloy's words and actions were now all an act did not detour from the fact that Aloy was still a dangerous opponent. One wrong move on Weiss' part could land her with a matching scar to the face.

Aloy pointed her right Keybalde towards the white-haired Huntress. "If you will not yield, I will make you!"

Aloy dodged a wave of fire Dust that was shot her way as she flipped in the air and landed so that Yearning Heart slammed into the steel flooring of the arena. With a flick of the wrist the Keyblade turned so that the resulting stained glass windows-like portals emerged at her feet.

 _'I see why her summoning glyphs look like that now.'_ Weiss thought as she noticed the matching stained glass motif between Aloy's summons and the weird place they had been taken to using Aloy's Semblance. Weiss was surprised to notice that the size of the mosaic glyph was easily three times the size of her pervious summon platforms, the current glyph taking up almost half of the floating platform's surface.

A dark mist emerged from the colorful surface as a huge hand clawed its way out of the stained glass mosaic. Aloy was right in believing Weiss' reaction would be genuine as Weiss felt her rapier lower to her side, along with her mouth hang open in horror as she watched an enormous monster of darkness rip its body from the summoning point. Screams of terror could be heard from the audience as the Heartless slowly emerged from Aloy's summoning symbol.

The Darkside towered over the fighters, almost the size of a small building, with long sharp fingers and pointed feet that ended in quizzical tendrils. Bright yellow eyes shone from a large head that was covered in lengths of shadow strands which moved of their own volition, obscuring its facial features, and reminding Weiss of a tale of a creature with a head full of snakes from legends of old. In the center of the massive Heartless' chest was an open space carved in the shape of a heart. Weiss thought that Heartless was a fitting name for the missing feature across its chest, although it was no less frightening knowing what the monstrosity was called.

Aloy cast her face down and lowered her Keyblades as the Darkside swiveled its massive head towards the Keyblade user. The Heartless lifted a massive claw-like finger at Aloy's stilled form before slashing down with its hand at the fighter's back. Weiss closed her eyes a second before the dark claws reached the Keyblade user's unprotected back.

Weiss squeezed her eyes shut tighter and lifted both hands to cover her ears as blood curdling screams were torn from Aloy's throat. It was a sound that would haunt the Huntress for years to come, as Aloy's screams seemed to echo endlessly in Weiss' ears as the Heartless effortlessly tore through Aloy's flesh.

Weiss gingerly opened her eyes, afraid as to what she might see only to be greeted with the sight of the Darkside towering over Aloy's bloodied hunched form. A pool of blood forming on the platform tiles as gore dripped from the Heartless' claw. Aloy herself had dropped her weapons and crossed her arms over her chest in pain.

Weiss watched as Aloy sank to her knees and slumped forward, so that a deep bloody gash could be seen across Aloy's back from her right shoulder down to her left hip. Her long coat turned red as her blue and black Heartless emblem became covered by the fighter's blood.

 **"What in Heaven's name are we seeing?!"** Professor Port's booming voice echoed over the speaker.

Having completed its gruesome task, the Darkside shifted its soulless gaze onto the horrified Huntress. Weiss couldn't help the involuntary step she took back as the monster of darkness reached for her body, slowly moving its massive limbs towards her still form. Weiss was frozen in fear, having seen the carnage left from the Heartless' strike to Aloy's body. If the Darkside could cause so much damage in one blow to such a skilled fighter, then what hope did Weiss stand against such a creature? Especially since Aloy seemed to not be in control of its actions, the injured Keyblade wielder having not moved from her kneeled position on the opposite side of the arena.

 **"Stop the match and cut the feed!"** Dr. Oobleck's order was heard across the arena and yet the Keyblade wielder's Heartless continued on its rampage toward Weiss' terrified form.

 _'…shit…Shit…SHIT!'_ Weiss thoughts shouted in her mind, her fight or flight response causing her body to remain still as adrenalin pumped through her veins and yet hold her immobile as the giant Heartless slowly lumbered towards the frozen Huntress in training.

"Snap out of it, Weiss!" Ruby desperately shouted as she stood up from her chair and leaned over in her seat hoping her pleas could be heard by her terrified partner. "You need to move, now!"

Be it an act of fate or sheer dumb luck, Weiss snapped out of her trace-like state long enough to cast a glyph at her feet to send her flying away from the giant Heartless.

"Okay, Weiss… You can do this." Weiss muttered to herself as she mentally prepared for the only technique she had that could possibly stop the Darkside before it killed her. "You _have_ to do this!"

Weiss tapped into the remaining stores of her Aura, feeling the air whip around her as she held up her blade to her face. Spinning it in a full circle and dropping to one knee, she slammed down Myrtenaster into the platform below. A large white glowing glyph designed with intricate symbols and depictions of revolving swords emerged at her feet and shifted so that it stood directly behind her. Weiss had never attempted to summon any being of this size, but she knew there was only one creature that she had once destroyed that would be able to stand up to the sheer size and power of the Heartless before her.

The air seemed to shimmer around her as the spiraling white glyph behind her shone brightly as a large glowing sword and armored plated arm emerged from the glowing glyph. Weiss yelled as she pointed her own blade in at the Heartless that had advanced towards her, the glowing summoned blade following her command by reaching back and preparing for a side strike.

Time seemed to slow down as Weiss' summon swung its sword towards the Darkside, at the same time the massive Heartless' hand moved through the air in a powerful swipe at the Huntress' unprotected body.

The resulting blows hit at the same time: the summoned sword arm sliced through the giant Heartless' chest just as the Darkside's hand hit Weiss with the force of a battering ram. The massive Heartless exploded into a cloud of dark mist as Weiss' body was knocked aside from the previous hit's impact – the blow being powerful enough to throw Weiss to the far edge of the platform. Weiss' Aura sensor buzzed at zero as her body remained unmoving on the steel tiled floor of the floating stage. At the same time Aloy's Aura sensor buzzed overhead as her kneeling form slumped over onto the floor, Aloy having fainted from her wounds.

Professor Port's voice boomed over the loud speakers posted around the stadium. **"It seems we have a double knockout!"**

 **"Can we have the medical staff report directly to the arena, ASAP!"** Dr. Oobleck's order was followed by a team of medical staff with two stretchers onto the now lowered platform.

"Oh no!" The Beacon students turned away from the arena to now face an out of breath Keyblade user. Haruka shifted her amethyst eyes at the limp forms of both fighters as they were taken off the stage. "I'm so sorry, I tried to stop it, but I was too late."

There was a momentary pause as Ruby continued to watch Weiss be lead off the platform with a look of horror on her face, Winter faring no better as she glared at the leader of Team HART, seconds away from punching the girl in the face.

Sensing the growing tension in the stands, Yang squeezed her body between the eldest Schnee sister and the still out of breath newcomer. "Come on, we can meet them in the medical room. I know where it is." Yang stated as she led her stunned teammates, Winter, and what was left of Team HART out of the stands and into the bowels of the stadium below.

[-][-][-]

The trek to the designated medical room that was located in the tunnels near the arena below took only a few minutes, but they felt like hours to the worried members of Team RWBY.

The running group of people were met by a volunteer who showed them to the far corner of the room where Weiss and Aloy's still forms lay on cots as they waited for an emergency flight craft to fly them from stadium and to a hospital in Vale. Weiss' teammates, Winter, and the other members of Team HART were quickly ushered to the side of the room away from Weiss and Aloy's unresponsive forms by a nurse, as they all waited for the bustling doctors and nurses around them to give their respective teammates the medical attention they so desperately needed.

As soon as a team of medical staff were busy swarming their unresponsive teammates with medical supplies and tools, Winter used the distraction to turn her anger over at the mysterious team who had gathered together and were talking in rapid and yet hushed whispers.

Winter marched up to Haruka and jabbed her gloved hand at the smaller girl's chest. "What - what was that all about? Your partner almost killed my sister!"

"Yeah! What the Hell was that?!" Yang shouted as she joined the fuming soldier.

"I – I don't know…" To Haruka's credit, she held her ground staring back at the angered Huntresses even as her voice shook in response.

Titus stepped to his leader's side, his worried eyes looking over at his fainted teammate. "I've never seen Aloy go berserk like that before."

Winter took a step back and breathed heavily through her nose until she had calmed down enough to think rationally. "Before that… _Thing_ was summoned, Weiss was able to get a message to me about Aloy being a puppet for someone else. Do you know anything about this?"

Haruka paused in thought as she considered the message before she slowly shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I don't know what that would mean."

Ryu stepped forward to lay a supportive hand on his leader's shoulder. "I am afraid we will not know what happened until our companions wake up." The normally reserved young adult glanced over to address the Beacon students who were watching the medical staff attend to Weiss' beaten form. "I would not worry about your friend. She fought well and has proved herself to be a strong woman. I am sure she will be fine."

Ruby glanced away from her partner's pale face to smile sincerely at the darker man. "Thank you for saying that."

Ryu bowed slightly at the waist. "I speak only the truth."

While Ryu and Ruby were speaking, Haruka had snuck away from the main group to stand off to the side, closer to Aloy's still form. She watched the medical team work on repairing the damage the Heartless had done.

Haruka sighed deeply at the sight of her friend's defeated form. "Oh Aloy, what have you gotten us into?"


	5. End of the Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good evening everyone (Or perhaps by the time you are reading this, good morning!). I am super excited to get this next chapter out to you all so quickly. Thank you so much to those who commented on the last chapter; not only do your comments, questions, and theories make my day (sometimes week), but they also help me figure out the general direction this story will go in. TLDR: Feedback = :) As always, please feel free to leave a comment on here or come yell at me at blacklabyrinth07 on tumblr. I always love hearing from my readers. Special thanks to my Beta, mysteriesofthislife, who took the time during their work hours to help me edit this fic. You are, and will always be, perfect. Anyway, I hope you are all emotionally ready for this... Let me know what you think! Enjoy!

A dull throbbing ache pounded away at the back of Weiss' skull as she slowly regained consciousness. Not yet having opened her eyes, the Huntress felt a tight pressure on her left hand that felt soothing, if not a little out of place. Weiss blinked her eyes rapidly to clear the blurry scene before her and felt her chest tighten at the curious sight. Ruby and Winter were seated on either side of Weiss's cot where she currently lay, her left hand clutched tightly by her partner. Blake and Yang could be seen standing slightly off to the side, giving Ruby and Winter the visitor seats provided.

"Ruby?" Weiss asked, unaware of her surroundings.

"Hey, Weiss." Ruby smiled as she lightly squeezed her hand before letting go.

"Glad to see you back in the land of the living, Ice Queen." Yang remarked as she walked to the edge of her teammate's bed.

"Where am I?!" Weiss sat up suddenly, the action turning out to be a big mistake as she clutched her head as a wave of nausea washed over her, at the rapid movement.

"Whoa, steady there Weiss." Winter laid a gentle hand on her sister's shoulder to secure the swaying Huntress from falling off her cot.

"You're in the Medical bay under the arena." Blake spoke softly trying to not startle Weiss as she struggled to focus on her companions. "Aloy's summon gave you a pretty nasty concussion, but your Aura should have replenished enough by now to heal the worst of it."

Yang nodded in reply. "The doctors said to take it easy – not to move around too fast or the like, since you might be dizzy."

Weiss let out a low groan before placing her head between her legs as another wave of nausea hit her hard. "I feel like I have a serious hangover."

"That might be because of the painkillers they gave you. They're supposed to make you all woozy…" Ruby answered as she shoved a trash bucket to the edge of Weiss' medical cot in case the injured girl had to throw up. Judging by the eerier shade of green the Heiress was turning, that possibility seemed more of a reality.

Blake reached over to Weiss' side table, to hand her friend a small container of pills and a fresh water bottle. "Here, these should help."

Weiss grunted her thanks as she didn't trust herself to nod at the moment, swallowing the pills in one go before slowly sipping the water. "So…What did I miss?"

Yang shrugged. "A few fights, but really nothing much… Only Nora absolutely murdering Neptune in a fight."

"He's okay, just a minor concussion." Blake answered for Weiss' questioning gaze. "You just missed him and the rest of his team; they were here while he was getting checked out. Neptune was discharged only a few minutes ago."

"So really, just the usual." Ruby replied with a wide grin which Weiss responded with her own small smile.

"There was a slight hiatus before the next round of matches since they had to fix the platform that you and Aloy kind of ripped apart during your fight." Blake explained as she gestured towards the ceiling where the arena rested several floors above. "It was a quick fix, but the destroyed metal tiles were too much of a tripping hazard for the fighters."

Weiss cringed as she thought about the damage that no doubt occurred from her fight with Aloy. She was glad that Beacon would covering the bills, since her own finances apparently were still frozen given that Weiss had yet to speak with her father about the matter. Weiss made a mental note to sweet talk the Schnee Dust Company to send the repair team a bouquet of flowers for their efforts.

"Team JNPR sends you their regards and well wishes. They wanted to be here, but they didn't want to overwhelm you." Blake continued, showing Weiss several missed messages she had received on her scroll from her school friends.

"It's rather crowded in here already." Yang remarked gesturing to the other side of the room where the other members of Team HART were huddled over Aloy's unconscious form. The curious foreigners murmured softly together, deep in their own conversation, as Haruka stepped away to talk to one of the nearby nurses.

"Aloy, how is she? Is she okay?" Weiss' gaze lingered on the still form of her previous opponent. The other girl was wrapped in bandages from the torso up with several medical tubes protruding from her left arm, leading to hanging IV fluids and a blood transfusion bag that hung off to the side.

Weiss narrowed her eyes in confusion as she watched Aloy's youngest teammate – _'Titus, was it?,'_ look around the room before he reached up to fiddle with Aloy's blood transfusion bag. The boy stood so that his body was blocking her view as he continued to check Aloy's medical equipment. After a few seconds, he stepped aside to speak with Haruka who acknowledged his actions with a slight nod. Weiss blinked rapidly, not trusting her vision completely, having suffered minor head trauma. Aloy's teammates were just concerned with her wellbeing, surely nothing else.

"Aloy's going to be ok." Yang replied as she jabbed a thumb over at the resting Keyblade wielder. "I talked to her partner for a bit to find out. The doctors struggled to find her blood type at first; apparently she had a rare type. But they were able to sow her up and stop the worst of the bleeding. She'll be okay with more time and as soon as tonight's fights are over, she'll be airlifted to the hospital."

"Weiss, what happened to you down there?" Ruby asked as she shifted in her chair to better face her partner. "One minute you were there and it looked like Aloy was going to seriously hurt you. And the next you both just… vanished. Team HART was freaking out with whatever happened, but they haven't been able to tell us anything."

Weiss sighed as she rubbed her throbbing temples; flashes of the events that had occurred crossed her thoughts as she tried to remember every detail. "To be honest, I'm still not sure I know everything. After all I was there and I don't even believe it…"

Winter reached out to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Anything you can tell us is helpful. Just take your time, Sister."

Weiss slowly nodded, careful to not jostle her aching head too much from the action. "Alright, I'll tell you what I can remember, but we should clue in Team HART on what I have to say. Maybe they can fill in the blanks."

"I'll go get them. Besides, they'll be happy to hear that you're okay." Ruby spoke with a smile before dashing off to the far side of the room in a burst of red rose petals. After a brief conversation with the other team, Ruby managed to herd the foreigners to Weiss' bedside.

Titus walked over to her bed with a spring to his step, his trademark grin flashing across his young face as he smiled down at the injured Heiress. "Weiss! I'm glad to see you're up and about again."

"Thanks Titus. Your teammate ready did a number on me, but I tend to get back up easily." Weiss replied with a tried smile of her own.

"A good quality to have." Ryu remarked as his amber eyes scanned her body for further injury. His gaze was surprisingly not intrusive, but rather that of someone who had seen their fair sure of injuries in their short life.

"Now that we are done exchanging pleasantries, we wanted to ask Weiss a few questions." Winter stated as she turned to face the Keyblade users. "And since Aloy is still unconscious we were hoping you all might be able to fill in some of the blanks in her story."

Haruka nodded. "We will do our best to answer when we can, although we cannot speak for all of Aloy's actions."

Weiss stared down at her hands as she felt all eyes turn towards her, waiting for her to speak. "I don't even know where to start."

Ruby gave her partner a reassuring smile. "When in doubt, start at the very beginning."

Weiss nodded her thanks as she drew a deep breath before starting her tale. "Alright, I'll do my best… I first noticed Aloy acting weird when we were in the tunnels waiting for the previous match to end."

And so after the course of a few minutes, Weiss told them everything; from the weird conversation she had with Aloy before the fight, to what was discussed between them in the bizarre dream world, as well as the plan they had enacted to fool whoever was messing with Aloy's vision from the crowd.

"The last thing I remember was Aloy's Darkside hitting me from the side. I knew I didn't have the Aura to stop it while maintaining my summon and I was so tired I couldn't move out of the way… And then I woke up here." Weiss gestured towards the rest of the room.

"That's… quite a story." Winter replied after a few seconds of silence that followed Weiss' claims.

"I know I have a head injury, but I am not making this up!" Weiss angrily spat as she crossed her arms in defiance.

"Rest, Sister." Winter spoke in a firm tone as she placed a gloved hand on her sister's shoulder. "I believe you have no reason to lie to us. However, without further evidence of this tampering of the fighters or without Aloy's collaborating testimony, there is nothing we can do to change the outcome of the match."

"Which was?" Weiss asked as she looked up at her companions' faces, several of whom looked solemn or refused to meet her eyes.

"You were knocked out, and as a result you lost. And Aloy was disqualified for excessive use of force and continuing the match after it was called off by Professor Port. You're out of the tournament, Weiss. I'm sorry." Winter squeezed her shoulder before letting go, her hand dropped uselessly to her side.

Weiss stared down at her own hands in thought. The Heiress scoffed at the thought of being upset over something that now seemed so trivial: losing the match was nothing compared to their current circumstances. Not that she necessarily understood what those entailed either.

So the tournament had continued on without any interference. Not only were the fights still taking place, but they blamed Aloy for her excessive use of force against Weiss not knowing about the manipulator. Aloy had believed that something would happen to further cause chaos once both fighters were out of the way, but perhaps their quick thinking had delayed their aggressor's plans… But if this was the case, how long did they have until it was too late?

"… Weiss? Are you okay?" Ruby asked, breaking Weiss from her spiraling thoughts.

The Heiress took a deep breath to calm down. According to her friends, no further issues were had with the fights. Perhaps they had thwarted Cinder's plans for tonight after all, buying the Huntresses more time to think up of a new plan.

"Yes, Ruby. I'll be okay. It's just a lot to take in." Weiss replied as she turned to look at her blond teammate. "Yang, you'll have to win one for Team RWBY."

Yang cocked Ember Celica to check that the weapon had a complete set of shell rounds, before sliding it back into its more compact form. "Don't worry, Ice Queen. I've got you covered."

As if on cue, their attention was drawn to the speakers built in overhead as Professor Port's voice echoed throughout the room.

**"On deck we have Yang Xiao Long from our own Beacon Academy, verses Mercury Black from Haven! Will both competitors please report to the south entrance of the stadium for your weapons check before your match. Thank you."**

"Are you ready for this, Yang?" Blake asked as Yang began to stretch the muscles in her arms upon hearing she was fighting in the next match.

"I was born ready, Blakey." Yang winked at her partner at the nickname and flexed her biceps; Blake rolled her eyes at the flirtatious response.

"Go on ahead with Yang, Blake. We'll catch up with you both in a second." Ruby stated as she shifted in her seat next to Weiss' cot.

Blake nodded. "I'll save you all your seats."

"Thanks, Blake!" Ruby yelled as the dark-haired Faunas waved back at her teammates before leaving the room with Yang who was still ~~showing off~~ – stretching. The blonde brawler was pulled out of the room by her more elusive partner.

Winter turned away from the existing Huntresses as she locked her arms behind her back and stared sternly down at her younger sister. "Now that you are adequately coherent, we must talk about your form during your match. What are were you thinking?! For the better part of your fight you were doing well and your technique was acceptable. But trying to block a duel sword strike from above using a double handed block, knowing you are shorter and weaker than your opponent? I thought I had taught you better than that. You know it's a waste of energy to face such a strike head on like that."

"I'm sorry, Winter." Weiss apologized as she listened to her sister's critique of her performance. But despite the older woman's harsh words, Weiss smiled softly as Winter continued with her tirade.

"Now something can be said for acting in the heat of the moment, but remember as a swordswoman facing another fighter of the same weapon style you must…"

Ruby smiled as she watched Winter lecture Weiss, her partner listening intently to her sister's instruction. To anyone else listening in on their conversation, it would seem as if Winter was only pointing out Weiss' flaws. But Ruby understood this to be Winter's way of showing affection, and most importantly, relief that her younger sister was relatively unharmed from her ordeal.

Weiss turned to face the members of Team HART, eyeing Aloy's partner with a quizzical expression as the older girl watched the sisters' interaction with a curious glint to her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I don't believe we have met. I met the rest of your team before my match." Weiss held out a hand to Aloy's partner, years of etiquette training making Weiss wish she were standing so that she could curtsy along with her introduction. "I'm Weiss Schnee. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, although I am sorry for the circumstances."

"Likewise," Haruka paused, simply looking at the welcoming gesture before slowly moving to grasp her offered palm. "Haruka Shiryoku."

It was as their hands met that Haruka gasped, her grip tightening refusing to let go of the younger Huntress. Weiss let out an unladylike yelp of her own as she noticed Haruka's amethyst eyes glow brightly before they rapidly changed color hues in a dizzying sequence: her irises shifted from the brightest of gold, to deep blue, a shimmering green, to a vibrant red before they shifted back to their normal purple.

"What – what was _that?!_ Weiss gasped as she ripped he hand away from the foreigner. Ruby jumped from her seat as Winter rested her hand on the hilt of her blade, both women ready to come to Weiss' defense if needed. However, Haruka had backed away quickly from Weiss' cot, ignoring the concerned shouts of her teammates as Haruka grabbed the nearest trashcan and violently threw up into the unsuspecting container.

Ruby grimaced at the sight of the leader of Team HART throwing up in the trashcan that Ruby had intended Weiss to use for the same purpose. At least someone had use for the waste basket.

Ryu had stepped in front of his ill teammate, one hand behind his back grasping his Keybalde, Wayward Wind, as if expecting retaliation from the confused Beacon students and Atlesian soldier.

Titus ran over to his leader's hunched form as she continued to get sick, one gloved hand rubbing small circles on her heaving back while murmuring comforting phrases. "Let it all out, Haruka… That's it. It's almost done."

After about a minute of struggle, Haruka finally lifted her head from the trashcan and pulled out a silver and purple embroidered handkerchief to wipe her mouth. She took several labored breaths before turning to bore her now amethyst eyes onto the youngest Schnee sister. Weiss knew that if looks could kill, she would have ended up a pile of dust onto the floor in an instant.

"How could you?!" Haruka's voice was hoarse, but the venom that laced her words was undeniable.

"I – I don't understand…" Weiss looked affronted as she swung her legs to the side of her cot, fully prepared to stand to defend herself. However, Ruby and Winter had stood up so that they formed a human barricade between Weiss and the distressed Keyblade wielder.

"What's your problem?" Ruby's fists clenched at her sides as she attempted to glare at Haruka who was still glowering at Weiss. "Leave her alone, Weiss didn't do anything! It's not her fault you got sick."

Ryu lowered his hands palm up in front of him so that he was no longer in his defensive fighting stance. "Everyone needs to calm down… I am sure this is simply a misunderstanding." He turned to face his angered leader, his eyes narrowing in seriousness. "Isn't that so, Haruka?"

The woman in question held his gaze for several long seconds, a silent yet furious conversation taking place between the two foreigners before she turned to face the young Heiress. "Very well, I apologize for my behavior." Haruka spoke as if the words were physically painful to say as she accepted a bottle of water from Titus to wash out her mouth.

"Good… I think." Ruby stated as she turned back to give her partner a reassuring smile. It seemed as if whatever had bothered Haruka was over now since she had agreed to a precarious truce with Weiss, although the young Huntress was still confused by the events that had just taken place. Whatever had happened between the two girls, Ruby was certain that Haruka and her team were hiding something. In Ruby's experience, people's eyes just don't glow like that without purpose.

Ruby turned to face the two Schnee women. "Weiss, if you are feeling better we should head back to the arena to cheer on Yang for her match. I already talked to the medical team and they cleared you to leave as long as you get checked out again later tonight. Winter, feel free to join us."

Winter turned to glare at Haruka who was still giving Weiss looks of disdain. "I think that would be wise. Come, Weiss… Let us observe your teammate's match together. I look forward to observing her melee technique to better understand your team's combat styles."

Ruby offered her arm to her unsteady teammate as together they left the room with Winter following dutifully on their heels. Ruby couldn't help but glance over her shoulder at the conscious members of Team HART, her mind swimming with unanswered questions.

"Well… That went well." Titus smiled awkwardly grabbing at the back of his neck as he watched the three girls leave the medical bay, the double doors to the room closing shut behind them with a soft click.

[-][-][-]

It was only a few minutes after Team RWBY had left the medical bay that Aloy stirred in her sleep and slowly waking into consciousness. Blinking to bring her sight into focus, she noticed her partner sitting at the foot of her bed on a small chair.

"Haruka?" Aloy asked her voice scratchy from lack of use.

Dark amethyst eyes bore into Aloy's own as she traced her gaze up and down her friend's injured body.

"I'm right here, Aloy." Haruka answered as she sat on the edge of her seat so that she could be easily seen. Aloy shifted on her cot, the cotton blanket placed on her lower body was scratchy against her fair skin.

Aloy looked around the small room, until her eyes landed on her partner once more. "And the Schnee girl?"

"She's okay. Weiss was released only a few minutes ago with minor injuries." Haruka explained, her eyes shifting away from her partner's slightly during her response.

"Good… That's good." Aloy stated, her words coming out a bit slurred from her fatigue. Feeling an uncomfortable pull in her left arm, she turned to examine the source of the stinging sensation only to find an IV port in her vein attached to an IV drip and blood transfusion bags.

"How bad am I?" Aloy asked in a rough voice. Her worried partner quickly brought a water bottle to her lips that had been placed by Aloy's cot after the medics were done tending to her. Aloy took a sip of her water and silently watched her partner return to her side.

"Multiple lacerations on your arms and hands, two cracked ribs, major blood loss – hence the transfusions, twelve stitches on your forearm, and over forty stitches along the wound to your back."

"Oh… I got banged up pretty bad there, didn't I?" Aloy winced as she tried and failed to sit up from her position.

"Lay back down, you idiot. We don't want you ripping out your stitches already." Haruka scolded her for her action and gently pressed Aloy back down onto the cot. "Once we get you back to the safe house, we'll patch you up more."

Aloy nodded in thanks and paused to listen to the announcer's commentary of the current match. She glanced down at her body and turned her head to face her friend while arching an eyebrow.

"Where are my clothes?" Aloy's question was valid as she was lying on the cot with only her pants and leather boots remaining on her body. She noticed that she wasn't indecent as her upper torso and chest was covered in thick bandages, her arms and hands also wrapped in sterilized gauze to stop the bleeding.

"They had to cut away your coat, vest, and shirt to treat your back without causing more damage." Haruka explained pointing to a pile of bloodied clothing that was pushed off to the side and would be disposed of later.

Aloy sighed wistfully at the damaged clothing. "Damn it. I liked that jacket."

Haruka rolled her eyes at her partner's priorities. "You can always just get a new one."

"I know, but that takes so much time." The older woman replied with a hint of a smile.

"However, I was able to save this for you." Her leader turned around to reach for something on a side table behind her, turning back to reveal a wide black leather belt with various chained emblems that glinted in the fluorescent light.

"Thank you, Haruka." Aloy breathed a sigh of relief as she took the belted keychains from her partner. Her long slender fingers brushed over the sentimental trinkets, her thumb rubbing the top golden emblem in thought. "I would have been really upset had I lost these."

"You are most welcome, my friend." The brunette woman smiled and gently patted Aloy's leg, one of the few places on the silver-haired fighter's body that remained uninjured.

Aloy turned to watch her friend as the younger woman stared off into the distance seemingly lost in thought. The injured woman grabbed her partner's hand that still rested on her leg and gave it a light squeeze to gain her attention. "You should go back to the stands and watch the match. We still have a job to do and you'll need to be ready if something happens. Besides, you need to keep a look out for the other wielders…"

"I'm not leaving you alone, Aloy." Haruka gave her injured teammate an incredulous look, jerking her hand back in shock. "Someone was manipulating you during your match and we still don't know who or where they are now."

Aloy wore a tired smile as she reached out with a bandaged hand and clutched her partner's with her own. "Haruka, it's okay. I'll be safe here surrounded by the medical staff. Right now I just want some peace and quiet."

"Go." Aloy squeezed her leader's hand once – Haruka frowning as she realized how weak Aloy's grip had become. "This changes nothing, Haruka. We stick with the original plan, alright? As soon as tonight's matches are over, take the team with you and search the school's grounds for the Keyhole."

Haruka closed her eyes in thought before she slowly nodded her head in agreement. "Fine, but I'm coming back for you, Aloy."

"You better," Aloy chuckled as she held her side in pain at the action. Haruka squeezed her hand once more before she let go and stood up to leave with her team whom were standing off to the side waiting for her.

"Haruka, wait!" Aloy called out weakly from her cot. Haruka turned around and walked back so that she returned to her seat and gave her injured friend her full attention once more.

Aloy looked around the room, her voice lowering into whispered tones not wanting to be over heard by the medical staff that lingered nearby. "During the match, something weird happened between that Schnee girl and I before I used my – what do they call it here – a Semblance? Anyway, I went in for a strike and something happened with our Auras."

Haruka tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Aloy paused as she stared down at her bandaged arms. "I think she's like us… One of the wielders we're looking for."

Haruka leaned in closer to her partner. "Are you sure? She doesn't present as one and she doesn't have a Keyblade."

"You know how time works with these things." Aloy made a vague gesture with right hand, as her left was still attached to the IV drip. "I think we're slightly too early. Could be by a week or maybe only a few hours, who knows?"

Haruka hummed in response, lightly tapping her fingers on her own thigh in thought. "So not now, but soon?"

"Yes, so it would seem." Aloy agreed. "Besides, Schnee seemed to recognize the Dive into the Heart… I think she's been chosen."

Amethyst eyes locked with steely blue as the leader contemplated her next course of actions at this new information. "I think we need to look at her and her team a bit more closely."

Aloy nodded tiredly as she shifted to a more comfortable position on her cot. "I think that would be wise, my friend."

Aloy frowned slightly as she stared as her team leader; a bandaged hand reaching up to gently cup Haruka's chin. The thick wrapping of bandages felt coarse on Haruka's skin, but she ignored the discomfort to lean into the soft embrace.

"You look tired, Haruka…" Aloy spoke softly as her thumb stroked her friend's jaw line. "What happened to you while I was out?"

Haruka's eyes fluttered closed at the caring gesture, the brunette refusing to meet her partner's gaze. "I had a vision… And a powerful one at that."

Aloy's gaze softened as her forehead creased with worry. "Haruka…"

"I'm fine, Aloy. I promise…" Haruka replied reaching up with her own hand to meet Aloy's that rested on her cheek.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Aloy asked as her partner's thumb caressed her palm which was still in place on Haruka's jaw.

"Yes, but not right now." Haruka replied as she twisted Aloy's hand so that her lips gently grazed the older woman's wrapped knuckles. "You need your rest and I do not wish to worry you."

Aloy was not to be deterred from the loving gesture. "It is not I whom I am worried about."

"You should be…" Haruka whispered, mostly to herself as she gazed over at her partner with eyes filled with concern.

There was a long pause before Haruka looked away, biting her lip in thought as she bounced her leg up and down at a dizzying speed.

Aloy reached out with her free hand to stop the nervous habit. "I'll be fine, Haruka. There's no need to worry."

Haruka sighed before turning to face her friend. "It's my job to worry. If no one else did, who would stop you from doing something incredibly stupid? Not that you would have any idea about that, now would you?!" She shot the taller girl a withering look.

"You wound me, Haruka." Aloy feigned being hurt as she placed her right hand over her bandaged chest. "Would I _ever_ put you in such a position?"

Haruka scoffed. "Oh, let me see… How about summoning a Darkside, making a deal with Heartless users, and taking Weiss to the dream realm just to have a conversation?!"

Aloy visibly paled at the sight of her shouting leader. "Oh… So she told you about that, I see… Saves me the trouble of an explanation then." Aloy shrugged ignoring Haruka's look of pure anger at her sass. "What's the phrase they used in Storybrooke? It is better to seek forgiveness, then to ask for permission."

"Of all the things that happened while in Storybrooke and that's what you remember?" Haruka muttered to herself, low enough that Aloy wouldn't hear her. The younger woman sighed deeply before she pinched the bridge of her nose at her partner's logic. "Taking advice from a fairytale character is never a good idea, no matter if they bat their pretty eyes at you."

"Yes, but it is so cute when they monologue about hope and good morals, instead of the usual ones about death and despair from their more villainous counterparts." Aloy smiled weakly while making a vague gesture in the air with her free hand.

Haruka shook her head while smiling. "You're going to be the death of me one day, Aloy."

Aloy laughed, clutching her hurt ribs at the action. "Me? Never… Titus and his shenanigans? Most certainly."

Her partner threw up her hands in exasperation. "Children! I am surrounded by children!"

"How is it that at nineteen years old you act like a mother scolding your misbehaving kids?" Aloy asked, attempting and failing to cross her arms as she was still strapped to the IV and blood transfusion bags.

Her team leader scoffed. "Maybe because you keep taking stupid risks and keeping things to yourselves that can get us in trouble… again."

Aloy pretended to sit and think about her reply before pointing at her stern looking companion. "Point taken… But I am not a child, nor should I be treated as such. After all, I'm three years your senior, you know?"

Haruka turned to stare at her, her amethyst eyes unwavering in their resolution. "And I have been to a hundred worlds and lived over a thousand lifetimes."

Aloy cast her partner a sidelong glance as she searched Haruka's face for any sign of jest. "You know, I can never tell if you are joking." She chuckled nervously until her partner's serious face softened into a small smile.

"And you will never know." Haruka winked before her smile fell softly into a more serious expression. When she next spoke, her voice was low and barely over a whisper. "And thank you, for choosing to save Zyun. Although, I am sorry for what it cost you to do so." She gestured at her bedridden companion's predicament.

"There was never a really a choice to be made. I made you an oath and I intend to keep it…" Aloy's injured left hand twitched on her leg during her declaration. Haruka knew that if Aloy was not completely drained of her life-energy, or Aura as they seemed to call it on this world, then Aloy's blade, Oathkeeper, would have appeared in her grasping hand.

"We will find him, Haruka – together." Aloy gingerly reached up to grip Haruka's hand once more before falling back onto the cot in exhaustion.

"Thank you, Aloy." Haruka smiled softly as she leaned down to place a soft kiss onto the older woman's forehead, Aloy's eyes fluttering shut at the reassuring gesture. "Stay and rest. I'll come for you at the end of tonight's matches."

Aloy only hummed in response as she pulled the blanket up further onto her body and rolled over to relieve pressure off her stitches. Within minutes the injured woman had fallen into a deep slumber.

Ryu and Titus waited for Haruka at the door that led to the tunnels towards the seating area for the audience, their backs turned to the pair to give them some privacy. It was a small gesture from the boys, but she appreciated it all the same.

Before joining her other teammates, Haruka glanced over her shoulder at her injured partner, a sad smile gracing her lips as her whispers went unheard by the sleeping woman.

"I won't let her hurt you, my love… I promise."

[-][-][-]

 **"Up next we have Yang Xiao Long from Beacon, and Mercury Black from Haven! Let's give them a big round of applause."** Professor Port shouts echoed over the loud speakers. Once announced, Yang and Mercury walked to the center of the platform before turning to face the press box. As soon as the fighters took up their position, the surrounding stage pulled away so that the center platform floated high over the arena. The crowd roared their approval at Professor Port's words in a deafening wall of sound.

 **"Combatants, are you ready?"** Dr. Oobleck asked over the speakers. Both fighters turned to face each other as they waited for the countdown that would begin their match.

"You better not go easy on me." Yang taunted as she smiled at her grinning opponent and cocked a hip.

Mercury chuckled as he shook his head and smirked. "You wish."

**"Combatants, the match will begin in: Three…"**

Yang and Mercury slowly circled around the stage as they waited for the start of the match to be called. Yang could feel the adrenaline begin to pump through her veins at the prospect of the battle between the melee fighters. Blake jumped up from her seat to cheer on her partner while Ruby clapped wildly beside her.

**"Two…"**

Deep within the maze of tunnels that ran below the arena, Aloy groaned slightly as she stirred from her slumber by the Professor Port's deep booming voice over the stadium's loud speakers. She shifted her weight off her injured back and rolled to the side to watch a small holo-screen that was placed on the wall to observe the fight. Searing pain from the movement forced her to lie back down and stare at the ceiling tiles above her as she listened to the announcer's commentary, leaving the injured woman to wonder if her request for painkillers would be a mistake. Did they even have morphine on this world?

**"One…"**

Yang and Mercury had stepped so close together that their outstretched hands almost touched before Yang pulled back her hand in preparation for a punch. Mercury pulling back his hand only to widen his stance, about to spring into a trademark kick.

**"Begin!"**

The moment the signal was given they attacked at the same time: Yang with a punch of her right fist and Mercury with a spinning kick. The force of their combined hits was enough to send each fighter stumbling back after the point of impact.

Mercury had recovered from the blow first as he sprinted at the yellow-haired brawler who watched his progression with focused eyes. Less than a foot away, Mercury jumped into a low kick aimed at Yang's legs, only for her to jump over the attack and retaliate with a quick shot with Ember Celica. The shotgun blast was blocked by Mercury's vambraces, the attack momentarily blinding the Haven student. Hoping to catch the boy off guard, Yang followed through with her punch only for Mercury to twist away and block her side jab with his own wrist.

For the next few seconds they traded blows in rapid succession, Mercury surprising the brawler by matching the girl hit-for-hit with his fists before trying to sweep Yang's legs out from under her, which she avoided by using her shot guns to blast into the air and flip to the far end of the platform. Mercury took the reprieve from the fighting to perform of series of back handsprings towards the opposite end of the stage.

"You can do it, Yang!" Blake yelled from the stands as she watched her partner load more rounds into her gauntlets.

"Break his legs, Yang!" Nora yelled as she jumped from her chair in excitement.

"I don't think that would be a good idea, Nora." Ren explained as he pulled his exuberant partner back into her seat. Weiss smiled as she noticed Ren held a small red triangular pennant banner with the acronym RWBY in black lettering sowed on the side – no doubt he borrowed the banner from Blake before the finals round of the tournament. She knew for a fact Blake had made a matching one for Team JNPR for when Nora and Pyrrha were to be selected for their matches.

 _'Team BroTPs, indeed.'_ Weiss smirked at the thought, as she remembered Nora's earlier comment about the camaraderie and friendships between their teams.

"Yeah, way to go, Sis! Kick his butt!" Ruby yelled as her partner rolled her eyes.

"Keep it down with the yelling, you dunce. I have a concussion remember?! Bright lights and loud noises hurt." Weiss held her head as her skull throbbed with the commotion of the fight below and the cheering from her friends. Why did she leave the medical bay again? Because she's a good teammate that's why. Weiss placed a delicate hand over her eyes as she groaned, another wave of nausea washing over the Heiress. The sooner the match was over, the sooner she could lay down in the darkness of her dorm room.

Ruby chuckled awkwardly as she stared at her suffering partner. "Sorry, Weiss…"

Yang fired off several shots with her gauntlets in rapid succession, which Mercury avoided each blast by running in a zigzag formation across the stage before leaping up in the air and spiraling down to kick at Yang's head from above. Yang blocked the surprise assault by using her gauntlets to absorb the blow and punch out with a left hook in retaliation. However, her fist only met air as Mercury dodged her attack with a bicycle kick that connected with Yang's jaw. She stumbled back as her Aura took most of the energy behind the hit before righting herself. Flashing her opponent a wide smirk, Yang pushed off from her crouched position to rapidly attack Mercury in furry of flying fists.

Yang's punch was fueled with more power from a well-timed blast from Ember Celica so that she hit Mercury directly in the abdomen with enough force that he went flying across the platform. He lay sprawled on the ground stunned as his Aura flashed from a failed absorption of her assault.

"Had enough, Mercury?" Yang taunted as she leisurely walked up to the dazed Haven student.

"Oh, we are just getting started, Blondie." Mercury spat back as he rose from the steel flooring and kicked out in a spiral motion towards Yang's head to surprise the brawler.

Yang blocked the blow with her fists and brought her hand back to deliver a devastating blow only to lose her footing as the stadium shuttered violently. Mercury let out a yelp as he too stumbled to the side from the violent disruption.

"What was that?!" Yang asked as she raised her hands into a fighting stance, unsure if this was part of the tournament.

"I'm not sure…" Mercury frantically searched the arena's stands for someone or something unseen to the Huntress. Mercury's eyes narrowed in confusion as he continued to ignore the brawler in favor of searching the crowd for the disturbance. "It wasn't supposed to be like this!"

Yang's head whipped around to face the frantic looking fighter. "What do you mean be that?!"

But Mercury's response was cut off as the fighters were startled by the shouts and screams of terror from the audience that filled the air. A wave of darkness spilled over the edges of the stadium, filling the arena while surrounding the combatants. From this creeping darkness a freak lightning storm formed overhead, obscuring the night sky with blackened clouds and flashes of lightning. The wind picked up as the dark clouds, that formed the raging storm, moved into a large spiral so that within seconds, high in the sky above the fighter's heads stood a massive swirling void of darkness.

"It's starting. Damn it, we have to move now!" Haruka ordered over the roar of the oncoming storm as her teammates rose from their seats and unsheathed their respective Keyblades.

"And where do you think you're all going?" Winter asked as she rose to block their path.

"We need to get down to the arena!" Haruka shouted over the crowd's screams as she gestured for her teammates to follow. "Ryu, grab Aloy and take her back to our friends at the safe house. Once she's safe with them, come back for us. I have a feeling we will need a quick getaway from here."

"Right away, Haruka." Ryu bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement before leaping over the now empty seats below him. Within moments he was lost amongst the chaotic crowd of evacuating personal, the taller boy sprinted towards the tunnels that would lead him to the medical bay, where his teammate was still receiving emergency medical treatment in the depths of the floating stadium below.

Haruka spared a glance to watch him go as she turned to her remaining teammate. "Titus, you're with me."

Titus nodded as he gripped his Keyblade, Missing Ache, at his side in anticipation. "I'm right behind you."

"What should we do?" Ruby stood up, already gripping her scroll in preparation to call Crescent Rose to her side at the press of a button. The young Huntress was not one to usually follow orders instead of giving them, but the situation presented before them was something she had never encountered before. And judging by the calm collectedness of the leader of Team HART, Haruka, she clearly had experience with this – whatever _this_ was.

Haruka turned to face the younger girl dressed in red. "We need to get down to your sister before she gets herself killed. And then we need to find a way to get off this God forsaken stadium before it gets consumed by darkness. From there, my team and I will try to find the Keyhole before it's too late."

"Find the what?!" Blake exclaimed as she, along with her teammates and Team JNPR used their scrolls to call their weapons to their aid. Within seconds of their call, lockers slammed down around them crashing into empty bleachers as each container opened to reveal their weapons.

Haruka ignored the black-bowed girl to face Winter who was watching the scene unfold before her with wide eyes, obviously never having seen anything quite like the vortex of darkness that had appeared overhead. The spinning portal slowly started to suck in loose material from the stands like a monster eating away at the world with its gaping maw.

"You're military personal right? Go find your boss and help with the evacuations, we need to get everyone off this stadium as soon as possible."

Haruka's words seemed to reach Winter through her trance as she tore away her gaze from a horrifying scene. A stray person in the highest row of stands who had ran too close to the vortex's opening was dragged through the stands until finally they were pulled through the air, their screams heard over the loud roar of the storm before they disappeared into the vast darkness above. They were not alone as more people trapped behind the masses of spectators running to evacuate through the stadium's tunnels reached a similar fate.

"I'll have General Ironwood secure the school's defenses. No doubt the Grimm will be crawling all over Vale by now and are sure to be headed our way. But we need to hurry, whatever that thing is, it's sucking people from the stands. If we don't act fast this whole stadium will be consumed!" Winter stated as she withdrew her sword and pointed to the black hole that circulated above their heads.

"Too late!" Jaune shouted as he pointed to mass of Grimm that swarmed over the walls and through the tunnels into the stadium. Flashes of light could be seen in various points of the stadium's stands as members of the Atlesian army, who had been posted as security during the event, were firing their weapons at the invading Grimm. Together, the Beacon students turned to help the nearest group of soldiers only for the Hunters and Huntresses' focus to be drawn away by a sudden commotion that was occurring in the arena below them.

"What are those?!" Nora shouted as she pointed towards dozens of black and red creatures that were crawling their way out of the surrounding darkness.

"They look like Grimm, but I've never seen them with that symbol before." Blake reported as her Faunas heritage allowed for better vision in the growing darkness that surrounded them compared to her human friends' strained sight.

Indeed, Blake's confusion was understandable as creatures resembling the Grimm emerged from the shadows that crept over the stadium. Blake's keen Faunus eyes focused on the Grimm-like creatures as bright red symbols that resembled hearts blazed bright on their chests.

Weiss' eyes narrowed as she realized that these creatures bore the same mark as Aloy's emblem, only baring red symbols compared to her blue, black, and white insignia.

"Those are Heartless. This seems to be their common form on this world. Your weapons will be useless against them." Haruka answered in exasperation as she pointed towards the arena below. Sure enough their eyes trained back towards Yang and Mercury who were desperately trying to fend off the Heartless' advance. Yang blasted several Heartless shaped like Beowolves into clouds of dark mists, only for the warped beasts of darkness to reform within seconds.

"Only a Keyblade can kill a Heartless." The leader of Team HART explained, as they watched as Titus who had made his way down several flights of stairs towards the combatants below. With one swipe of his Keyblade at the head of a Heartless Beowolf, the creature exploded in a rain of dark mist. As soon as the body of the Heartless was destroyed, a weird glowing heart-shaped entity floated towards the sky away from the spot the Heartless had disintegrated.

"We still have to try." Ruby answered defiantly as she turned to her two remaining teammates. "Blake, Weiss, come with me. Yang needs back up." Her teammates nodded to her in understanding as Ruby turned to face Team JNPR. "I know I can't order you to come with us, but we could really use your help."

"What, and miss all the action?!" Nora asked as she withdrew Magnhild from her locker, swinging the giant hammer around to test its weight before resting it against her shoulder. She smirked at her teammates who were also grabbing their weapons. "Never."

"Nora's right. We stand with you, Ruby." Jaune reassured his friend, drawing his sword from its sheath and transforming the latter into his trusty shield.

"Until the bitter end." Pyrrha added, securing her golden shield onto her arm.

"Winter, wait!" Weiss yelled at her sister's retreating form. The older Schnee woman turned back to face her worried sister. "Be careful."

Winter nodded, her jaw clenched in a stern grimace. "You too, Weiss."

The younger Huntress nodded as she watched her sister's bright white Atlesain uniform become lost amongst the crowd of evacuating spectators.

"Alright teams, let's move out." Ruby yelled as she disappeared in a flurry of red rose petals over the last few rows of stands that stood between her and the arena. Ruby fired off a shot with Crescent Rose so that she flew through the open air at an alarming speed with her blade extended in a deadly arch of steel. With one fierce swipe, her scythe cut through a row of Heartless Beowolves, their bodies momentarily turning into formless clouds of darkness.

Ruby took the momentary handicap of her opponent to glance around at the other fighters accessing their situation. The whereabouts of Team HART were unknown as the Keyblade wielders were scattered around the stadium to perform their specific tasks. Ruby spotted Team JNPR working as a well cohesive unit while they faced off against a small group of Ursa and Beowolves that were blocking one of the stadium's main exists. Blake had fought her way to her partner, both girls blasting away at any Heartless or Grimm that stood in their way – Mercury having disappeared sometime during the chaos.

Firing off another round with her sniper function, Ruby quickly flew towards the nearest Grimm. She successfully cut down the creature before spinning in a flurry of rose petals to attack a Heartless Ursa that had crept up behind Weiss, who in turn was distracted fighting off a real Grimm of her own. Ruby paused, crouched down with her scythe held out in mid-swing as the Heartless dissipated from the blow, only for the creature to slowly form again.

The Heatless Ursa roared, the glowing Heartless symbol on its chest matched the fiery intensity of the burning red light that came from its eyes. Ruby adjusted her left-handed grip on her scythe only for the beast to be torn apart by the flash of a Keyblade strike.

Titus smirked at his efforts, and Ruby's stunned face, as the large Heartless disappeared in a burst of darkness, a large glowing heart escaping into the sky in its wake.

"Haruka and I couldn't find the Keyhole. We need to fall back, now!" Titus shouted as he jumped into a wild spin that cut down a small swarm of Shadows. The young boy then ran across the arena to join Team JNPR who had taken down the surrounding Grimm, only to find themselves trapped by a ring of Heartless of all forms.

Ruby glanced back at her partner who was already breathing heavily. "Are you okay, Weiss?"

Weiss gasped for breath before nodding. "Yes, I'm good for now. I'm just tired since my Aura hasn't completely regenerated." Her icy blue eyes skimmed the surround chaos. "But I don't think I'll last much longer."

"Don't worry Weiss, I've got your back." Ruby answered as she quickly cut down a Heartless Shadow who had made its way towards the resting Huntresses. "Can you see the others?"

Weiss and Ruby straightened up from their fighting stances to look for their other teammates, only to find Ryu jumping into their field of vision as he held his Keyblade in reverse grip. A sideways slash at the white head of a Heartless King Taijitsu, caused the snake-like Heartless to thrash around as the black headed side faded away in a bust of mist. There was a flash of light as the strange luminescent heart entity was released from the dissolving soulless form.

"Come on, we have to find your friends and get out of here!" Ryu shouted over the roaring of the storm, the swirling vortex of darkness was as loud as a hurricane as the black hole tore a section of the stands away only to disappear into the gapping void.

Ryu's vividly colored yukata fluttered around his waist in the intense wind, the unique design of Ume blossoms decorated a field of orange and black silk created an illusion of movement, the delicately painted red and pink flowers danced on the fine silk in the storm. The colorful sight was a beautiful juxtaposition compared to the darkness that surrounded the Huntresses; a calming breath of life in the midst of strife.

Ruby and Weiss fought alongside Ryu as they made their way across the metal platform towards center stage where Blake and Yang had been fighting against a mix of various Heartless and Grimm that threatened to overtake them; the Huntresses now joined by Titus who cut away the Heartless with apparent ease.

Both the Heiress and the young leader were becoming increasingly frustrated by their wasted efforts as with each momentarily disabling strike against a Heartless, it would only reform seconds later.

"Why – Won't – You – Just – Die – Already?!" Ruby shouted as she punctuated each word with a deadly strike of Crescent Rose. The younger Huntress speed up her movements, a trail of rose petals followed her wake as the dissipated mists of defeated Heartless continuously shifted back into their corporal forms.

"Ruby! Leave them alone and get to your team!" Weiss yelled as she slashed out with Myrtenaster to wound an unidentified Heartless that was shaped like a larger Shadow, but wore blue clothing and a set of armor. Weiss clutched her head as a wave of nausea hit her from her concussion, prompting the Heiress to gracefully spin away from her reforming opponent only to throw up directly into another dark mist blob.

Ruby cringed from the sound of her partner getting so violently ill before she sped over to her side to hold back her white hair from her face. "There it is… Let it all out, Weiss. Where's my trash bucket now when we need it?" Ruby chuckled awkwardly as she ignored Weiss' glare, the white-haired girl clearly not in the mood for her partner's jokes.

"Now… is not the time… Ruby." Weiss panted as she leaned heavily against her shorter partner.

"Careful there, Ice Queen!" Yang shouted from several yards away as she struck down an unsuspecting Grimm. Blake covered for Yang as she glanced over her shoulder to watch her sister comfort the still struggling Heiress. "You good, Weiss?"

Weiss gave the blonde a weak thumbs up while leaning on Ruby, before wiping the filth from her mouth and moving her rapier back into fighting position. Although Ruby doubted Weiss would be able to fight for much longer as she seemed to be swaying on the spot. Meanwhile, Ryu covered for the girls as he sliced through a Heartless that had wandered too close to the incapacitated Huntress.

Using Ryu and Ruby to clear the path of Heatless and Grimm, Weiss followed the two fighters until they were only feet away from Yang, Blake, and Titus who were holding their own against Heartless and Grimm alike. They were soon joined by Haruka who had led Team JNPR over to their group so that all the fighters from Beacon were in the same place.

"Ryu, did you get her?" Haruka shouted over the storm as the wind picked up around them.

"Yes! Aloy's with the others now. Did you find the Keyhole?" Ryu shouted back as he paused to slice through a lingering Shadow.

"No! It's not in the stadium and were didn't have time to check the grounds." Titus responded for his leader who was preoccupied with cutting down a smaller Heartless covered in armor. "We've got Soldiers!" Titus yelled while simultaneously jumping over a dissipating Shadow to cut down one of the Heartless forms in armor. The Soldier bursted in a cloud of darkness after a well-placed hit with Missing Ache.

Haruka paused in her fighting to look around at the damaged stadium, seeming to contemplate their situation, before nodding to herself. "We're too late." She turned so that her teammates could hear her over the growing storm. "We need to evacuate, now!"

"What?! We can't leave, this is our home!" Jaune shouted as he raised his shield to block bit of debris that flew by his face.

"If you stay here, you will die!" Haruka shouted in reply pointing to the spinning vortex above them.

Pyrrha turned to grab Jaune by the straps of his armor. "Jaune! It's time to go. There is no shame retreating so that we can live today and fight again tomorrow."

Jaune searched Pyrrha's eyes before nodding and hanging his head in defeat. "You're right… But we're coming back as soon as we can."

Pyrrha smiled before giving her partner a brief hug. She pulled back to smile at him again. "And we will – together. But we need to leave now before it's too late."

Having overhead the partners, Haruka turned to face her own team. "Ryu, I need to you to create a gateway out of here. You know where to go. We're taking them with us." The leader of Team HART gestured to the surrounding Beacon students who were still fighting all around them.

With a quick nod, Ryu turned to his partner who was taking down a group of Heartless Beowolves to his right. "Titus, cover for me!"

"On it!" Titus yelled as he jumped off the back of a Heartless to leap through the air, only to stand at the ready next to his older partner.

Ryu nodded his thanks before closing his eyes and sweeping Wayward Wind in a large arch directly in front of him. The brushed metal of the Keyblade flashed in what was left of the stadiums lights as he cut through the empty space. Within seconds Ryu's slash caused the air to ripple until a large oak double door archway with iron fastenings and a single lit lantern materialized in the space before him. Ignoring the looks of awe and bewilderment of the surrounding fighters, Ryu ripped open one of the oak doors, causing a dim light to spill out from the archway which casted an eerie glow onto the group of fighters and the remaining Heartless.

"Everyone, follow me!" Titus shouted as he bounded through the doorway as if he had done this countless times in the past, Haruka stepping through the doors without hesitation, only after waving for the Beacon students and Ryu to follow her into the unknown.

However, before anyone else could follow her, there was a loud screeching sound that echoed over the sounds of the storm that raged overhead. The fighters paused in their battles to look around in horror as the press box was ripped away from the stands and was sucked into the dark spinning void above, along with various pieces of wreckage from the destroyed stadium.

"Ruby!" Weiss screamed as she felt her body being pulled off the ground and into the air above. Only then to be stopped from the pull of the vortex by Ryu who held her arm, keeping the Heiress from being ripped away from her partner – Ruby in turn having slammed down Crescent Rose into the metal platform to stop her from being swallowed into the vortex of darkness.

"Grab onto somebody so we won't be separated!" Ryu shouted as he held one hand onto one of the double doors, his other hand still holding onto Weiss – which after great effort, he heaved her through the open doorway.

Firing a sniper round with Crescent Rose, Ruby shot forward against the pull of the vortex to grab onto her sister, who held Blake with her spare hand. Forming a chain of hands with her teammates, Ruby secured her weapon onto her back while her own outstretched hand was grabbed by Ryu. The older boy had also put his Keyblade away to use both hands to grip at the frame of the doorway and hold onto Ruby to keep the Huntresses from being sucked into the spinning void of darkness.

For a brief moment they were safe, so long as they held onto each other. However, the same could not be said for the others as fate was not kind to those left behind.

"Ruby!" Jaune yelled out in desperation as his teammates had interlocked their hands in one long chain, only to be held in place by their leader who had gripped a broken piece of metal plating that was sticking out from the platform's flooring. Ruby's eyes widened in terror as she watched his grip slowly loosen until the swordsman's remaining fingers slipped from his hold. Jaune screamed as his teammates and himself were pulled further away from the safety of Ryu's doorway.

"Jaune!" Ruby's screams went unheard over the howling of the wind as she watched in horror as Jaune, Pyrhaa, Nora, and Ren were each swallowed by the vast vortex above them.

It was at this point that the force of the vortex was so strong that Ryu was barely holding the girls in place as Ruby held onto Yang. The blonde in turn was grasping her partner's arm for dear life as Blake's entire body was floating in mid-air, the Faunas ruthlessly being pulled into the portal of darkness.

"Don't let go, Blake!" Yang yelled as she watched her partner's grip slip slightly from her hand. "Don't you dare let go!"

Lilac eyes met radiant ember as Blake grabbed at Yang's arm with both hands tightening in resolve.

"I won't, I promise!" Blake shouted, her fingers anchored like claws onto Yang's arm as the spinning vortex tried to rip her away from her partner. Yang's eyes suddenly burned red as her hair caught on fire, the blonde activating her berserker Semblance. The extra reserves of strength became necessary to keep her partner from slipping from her grasp as the vortex's pull strengthened; Yang in turn trusting Blake to keep her promise.

"We are going to need to work together in order to pull ourselves into the gateway!" Ryu's shouts could barely be heard over the roaring of the storm above them that was only growing in size, swallowing what was left of the stadium at a rapid pace. "On the count of thee, everyone pull as hard as you can! Ready?!"

Ruby nodded while Yang and Blake shouted in unison. "Ready!"

"One… Two… Three… Pull!" Ryu shouted as he leaned with all his weight against the door frame to pull the girls into the doorway. Each Huntress pulled at the other's arms acting like a rubber band to force their companion to fly past them until Blake was whipped forward by Yang's strength, so that she was soaring through the air and through the open doorway, quickly followed by the burning blonde Huntress.

Ruby was the last to be pulled through the doorway of her team as Ryu followed her through the makeshift portal away from what was left of Amity Colosseum. Her silver eyes locked onto the terrifying image before her as in the distance she could see the peak of tallest tower of Beacon Academy as it was violently ripped away before being consumed by the portal of darkness. Meanwhile, the grounds of the school had become completely overrun by countless scores of Heartless and Grimm as they stormed their way through the Kingdom of Vale.

As Ruby fell through the gateway, she slowly lost consciousness. Her last memories being only of a city in flames, the floating stadium and her school being ripped apart by the vortex of darkness, while the grounds were overran with soulless creatures that the people of Remnant had no hope of defeating.

Ruby had failed…

And Beacon had fallen.


	6. Welcome to Traverse Town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good evening everyone! Thank you so much to those who commented on the last chapter; not only do your comments, questions, and theories make my day (sometimes week), but they also help me figure out the general direction this story will go in. TLDR: Feedback = :) IMPORTANT NOTE! I changed Ruby's age to be 16 at the start of this fic, instead of 15 as I had originally stated. I was using the RWBY wiki page to guess their ages at the start of Vol. 3 (which said 15 for Ruby for vols. 1-3), but the timeline would be confusing for her to be 16 for vol. 4-5 and suddenly be 17 by vol. 6 (which is only a few weeks long - if that). To avoid confusion, and to make their ages seem to be aligned with canon, I just aged her up a bit (so Ruby is 16 and WBY are 18). I changed this in the past chapters, so if you reread them her age should be correct now. As always, please feel free to leave a comment on here or come yell at me at blacklabyrinth07 on tumblr. I always love hearing from my readers. Special thanks to my Beta, mysteriesofthislife, who took the time during their work hours to help me edit this fic. Anyway, please let me know what you think! Enjoy!

Ruby groaned as she blinked slowly into consciousness. Her vision was strained trying to make sense of the bright neon lights that surrounded her. The scythe wielder slowly flipped to her side, the stone tile pavement biting into her check as the young Huntress failed to get a better grasp on her bearings.

 _'Why am I laying on the ground? And where am I?'_ Ruby's thoughts seemed to slur in her muddled mind as memories of the events from before suddenly flooded over her: a stadium being ripped apart by darkness, screams that filled the air as a large spinning vortex sucked in Team JNPR, her team forming a human chain from being pulled in to the void, Weiss being hulled through the gateway by Ryu – rendered weak from her injuries…

"Weiss?!" Ruby yelled, her palms scraping against the rough pavement as she attempted to roll onto her knees, glancing around for her missing partner. "Yang?"

"Ugh… Not so loud, Ruby." Yang's pained comment came from the far side of the town's plaza. Ruby glanced around in her foggy state, her silver eyes taking in the slightly blurred colored images, that when blinked into focus, became each hunched form of her teammates.

Yang groaned loudly as she rolled over onto her back, starring up at the starry night sky and neon lights that shone overhead.

"Anybody dead?" Yang asked sarcastically.

Blake raised one limp hand, grunting in response not having the energy for words.

"I think you meant to ask if anyone was _alive,_ Yang." Weiss replied as she picked herself up from the ground and wiped the dust from her no longer pristine white combat skirt and matching bolero.

Ruby blew a sigh of relief as her entire team was accounted for, although each girl was in various states of distress as they crawled from the ground to stand on shaky legs. It became increasingly apparent to the young leader that gateway jumping between worlds didn't agree well with her team.

"Nope. Definitely dead." Yang confirmed, ignoring Weiss' increasing agitation. The blonde brawler brushed off dust from her sleeves before using her fingers as a comb in an attempt to tame the wild mane of luscious golden locks. After fixing her appearance, Yang walked away from the small group of Huntresses to observe an eye-drawing mural that was displayed in the corner of plaza. The mural was a brightly lit water feature with an image of two dogs whose snouts where tenderly pressed together.

"Where are we?" Yang's voice was filled with wonder with a hint of reserve as she turned to observe her immediate surroundings. Large blood red banners with the number three depicted on each one were displayed around the high stairwells that surrounded the plaza square. Tall lampposts lit the area, each one displaying similar banners in the same deep red, giving the cold stone architecture a splash of bright color.

"I don't think we're in Vale anymore..." Blake chuckled slightly at her attempt of humor before walking over to join her partner who stood staring at a strange dog-themed mural. _'What a weird place…'_

"This must be one of the worlds Team HART spoke of." Ruby commented, spinning around on the spot to observe the unfamiliar area.

Weiss cocked her hips, her arms crossed over her chest as she stared around at the unusual aesthetic of the town they were in. "Speaking of which, where are they?"

Ruby shook her head as she failed to spot their new companions. "I'm not sure… Weapons check everyone?"

Yang checked the shotgun rounds in Ember Celica before cocking them back into place, empty shell cases littering the floor from the movement. "Locked and loaded over here, Sis."

"Will it even make a difference?" Blake asked as she withdrew Gambol Shroud, the variant ballistic chain scythe glinted in the neon lights as she shifted the weapon into its katana configuration.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked as she unclipped Crescent Rose from her back and checked the sniper rounds before snapping the chamber back into place.

Blake hesitated as she stared down at her weapon in thought. "Well, you saw what it was like back at the arena. Our weapons are great for killing Grimm, but they're practically useless against those, what are they called again, Heartless?" She made a vague gesture with her hand as she spoke; her hidden Faunus ears could be seen twitching in response.

"Blake, you're planning for a scenario that might not even happen." Yang replied as she placed a hand on her partner's shoulder in reassurance. "Or if it will, we still have time to find Team HART to help us out. They seemed to be able to handle the Heartless without a problem."

"That's because they have Keyblades." Weiss stated as she checked the Dust levels in their chambers on Myrtenaster.

Blake nodded at the Heiress' words. "Haruka did say they were the only things capable of killing the Heartless."

"Then we need to find HART. Come on; let's try to get out of here." Ruby replied as she walked towards the nearest exit.

"Yeah, before we run into those creeps again." Yang scoffed as she followed her sister towards an alleyway, walking down to a large oak door emblazoned with a golden number two affixed to its front.

As if waiting for the girls to attempt to leave the plaza, the ground shook violently as wide stone pillars burst forth from the tile ground, blocking all the exists and trapping the girls in the square. A ring of Soldiers appeared, standing at the top of each pillar, taunting the Huntresses with their hypnotic dance-like movements.

"What was that?!" Blake shouted, gripping Gambol Shroud in a defensive position while widening her stance as she felt the floor shake with violent vibrations as the plaza alleyways were sealed off. Her amber eyes flickered to the Heartless that surrounded her teammates.

"We've got Heartless!" Yang yelled, pointing out the Soldiers that lined the plaza's high walls.

"You just had to jinx it, didn't you, Yang!" Weiss shouted as she flicked Myrtenaster to change cartages from red to blue Dust. The revolver clicked slightly into place as it landed on the desired Dust chamber.

"This is not my fault!" Yang shouted as she lifted her fists into the air, ready for a fight they had no hope of winning. The Soldiers jumped down from their posts to surround the Huntresses in their hypnotic dance. They were soon joined by a small swarm of Shadows whom appeared beside the Soldiers creating a wall of Heartless.

"Everyone quiet down!" Ruby called out as she spun Crescent Rose into its scythe formation. "We need to try to hold them off for as long as we can."

With a mighty yell Ruby surged forward, swinging her scythe in a deadly arch of steel. One powerful swing of her blade cut down four Shadows, each creature dissipating in a burst of black mist. Ruby jumped into a spin so that Crescent Rose cut through a charging Soldier, the armored Heartless meeting the same fate of its smaller brothers.

All around the young leader her teammates were fighting with similar rates of initial success. Each Huntress cut down the Heartless with apparent ease, only for the creatures of darkness to reform within seconds.

"Ruby! We can't hold them off forever, what do we do?!" Yang yelled between firing rounds of Ember Celica, each shot bringing down another Heartless in a burst of shadowy mist.

"I'm working on it!" Ruby yelled in response as she fired several sniper rounds at more Soldiers that had appeared above them on the high pillars blocking their path. Weiss was fighting on the defensive beside her, the Heiress relying on her partner to take the brunt of the work since she was physically exhausted and fighting without an active Aura. Ruby ground her teeth in frustration at their predicament. Without Weiss' glyphs, they couldn't scale the walls without risking serious injury, and they couldn't waste their ammo to try to shoot above the plaza's walls.

"Come on, Ruby… Think… THINK!" Ruby muttered out loud as she gripped her head with her right hand, trying to drown out the noise of the fighting around her.

Her pleas for aid seemed to go unheard, until Crescent Rose began to vibrate violently in her left hand of its own accord.

"What the…" Ruby was cut off by a cry of pain as suddenly the metal shaft of the scythe became too hot to hold, the burning metal clattered to the ground as Ruby released her precious weapon from her grasp out of instinct. A quick glance around to her fellow teammates showed that the same strange phenomenon had occurred to each Huntress. Their weapons shaking and burning with intense heat to the point where Blake and Weiss had also dropped their weapons, Yang going so far as to rip Ember Celica from her arms as the heated metal had bypassed her fire-resistant Semblance with ease. The shotgun vambraces had left large angry welts on her wrists that were gradually beginning to heal.

"What's going on?!" Blake yelled as she clutched her hurt palm, her Aura already healing the sudden burn. Meanwhile, the Heartless were using this distraction as a way to slowly advance on the now unarmed Huntresses.

But before Ruby had a chance to answer, her palm tingled as if all the static electricity in the air was dancing across her calloused skin. Ruby let out a contented sigh as sudden calming warmth flooded through her body and converged in her chest. A low hum filled the air as a bright flash of white light emitted from a mysterious weapon that had materialized in her hand.

Ruby stared in awe at the gleaming blade that rested in her grasp, the black leather grip contrasting harshly with her white skin. The weapon resembled a giant bronze skeleton key, the polished shaft ended in a rectangular sheet of bronze with the shape of a crown cut from the metal to form the teeth of the blade. At the base of the weapon was a decorative strip of black metal that rested above a crimson double-sided hand guard. A silver chain dangled off the end which hung a small metallic symbol that resembled Ruby's crest of a red rose.

"Are these Keyblades?!" Weiss shouted as she stared down at a silver weapon that had appeared in her hand, the blade matching Ruby's in design, but Weiss' cross guard was royal blue with a white leather grip. She smiled in approval at the small white Schnee snowflake that hung from a simple silver chain, marking the weapon as her own.

"One way to find out!" Blake shouted, swinging her own weapon at the nearest Shadow that had jumped at the waiting Huntress. The metal shaft of her blade looked like hardened obsidian as the black colored steel weapon cut through the Heartless with apparent ease. Blake smiled with satisfaction as a glowing heart-like entity floated up from the black mist, which was all that remained from the defeated creature.

"It's the real deal, guys! We can finally take out the Heartless!" Blake called to her team while admiring the violet cross guard and white leather grip of the Keyblade that rested in her hand. A matching black stylized nightshade flower symbol hung from a silver chain, her family's crest a reminder of all she had left behind on Remnant.

"Then let's show them what we got!" Yang yelled as she launched herself at the nearest Soldier. The golden Keyblade flashed in the neon lights as the blonde berserker smashed in the face of the Heartless, using the russet brown cross guard as make-shift brass knuckles. The force of the blow causing the Soldier to burst into dark mist, the tell tale glowing heart leaving the creature's dissipating body.

"Yang, that's not how you are supposed to use your Keyblade!" Weiss chided as she slashed at the nearest Heartless, twisting her body into the sweeping strike. While her Keyblade was perfectly balanced, it was a heavier and bulkier weapon compared to Myrtenaster. Weiss grimaced as she realized that her trademark fighting style of quick jabs and refined counter-attacks would not work with this new blade.

Yang scoffed as she used the flat side of her Keyblade to knock back a Heartless that had jumped down from the plaza's walls like her weapon was a baseball bat. "Like you know any better, Ice Queen. This seems to be working perfectly fine!" The blonde let out a yell of pride as she adjusted her grip on the black leather handle so that she could punch out a lingering Shadow.

"Yang, less bashing – more slashing!" Blake yelled as she used her Semblance to doge a lunging group of Soldiers, only for the Faunus to reappear directly behind the Heartless and take them out in one swipe of her Keyblade.

"No can do, Blakey. It doesn't really go with my aesthetic." Yang smirked as she thinned out the ranks of Heartless relying on her rather unorthodox fighting style of using her Keyblade's russet cross guard and hilt as brass-knuckles. Shadows shrunk into the ground, still visible to the naked eye but unable to be hurt, as they ran from the crazed brawler who had switched her grip on her Keyblade as a two-handed bludgeon to knock back a creeping Soldier.

"YANG!" Ruby yelled as she gripped her Keyblade with both hands, quickly switching her fighting style into a two-handed sword wielder. The young leader was lucky that Uncle Qrow had started her out with basic sword fighting techniques before switching Ruby into the more advanced style of wielding a scythe. While she was admittedly rusty, she was able to transition almost seamlessly into the other weapon's style. The Huntress became a crimson blur as her bronze Keyblade cut down the back ranks of the Heartless swarm that had fallen from the plaza's walls.

"Sorry, Ruby!" Yang yelled back as she cart-wheeled away from a slashing swipe of razor sharp fingers by a small swarm of creeping Shadows.

Within a few minutes of adjusting to their new weapons, with various degrees of success for each Huntress, Team RWBY was finally able to stop the swarm of Heartless as Ruby sliced through the last Shadow that had scurried around the tile floor before materializing enough for the leader to defeat it.

"Did we do it?" Weiss asked as she lowered her blade to her side, every word laced with tiredness as she struggled to keep her grip on the silver and royal blue Keyblade.

"I… I think so. Well done team." Ruby remarked as she let out a breath of air, her shoulders sinking from the strain of holding her new weapon. While Qrow had taught her the basics of fighting with a sword, the Keyblade was best wielded using both hands like a long sword. It was quite the work out, and a quick glance around at her team informed Ruby that everyone – with the exception of Yang – was gasping for breath, muscles shaking in fatigue.

"You've got to be kidding me?!" Yang yelled as a giant creature fell from the sky and crashed to the tiles below, causing the ground to shake from impact. Weiss had to dodge out of the way in a barrel roll to avoid being hit by a large hourglass shaped armor piece that was spinning in the air as a set of armored legs and arms attached itself to the purple and black floating body. A few seconds later a round knight's helmet attached to the main body, each limb floating and twirling in the air of its own accord. The large black and red symbol blazed across its chest marked the creature as a Heartless.

"What do we do now, Ruby?" Blake asked as each girl fell into their fighting stances. Ruby glanced around at her team, taking note of their exhausted states, the leader running out of options.

"We fight!" Ruby yelled, raising her bronze Keyblade high over her head as she charged the floating Heartless who now stood in her way. Her teammates joined her in her charge, Blake and Weiss to her sides while Yang brought up the rear.

Before Ruby could complete a side swipe to the Heartless' side, she was interrupted by a high pitched cry as a young woman jumped over the walls surrounding the plaza, the girl throwing a handful of spiraling shuriken at the Heartless' helmet. The ninja stars struck home, the Heartless armor vibrating harshly as the projectile weapons pierced the thick plated metal of the head piece.

Team RWBY's attention was drawn above their heads by a loud cry that cut through the air, as a young man with a large sword jumped from a stone pillar, his blade thrusting down with the momentum of his movement. The grinding screech of steel cutting through metal made the girls cringe as the man drove his sword through the main body of the Heartless. For a few tense seconds nothing seemed to happen as the man withdrew his blade, the revolver-like handle shined in the dim lamps' lighting as he tossed the weapon to be attached over his shoulders.

The purple armored Heartless glowed bright white, light flooding through the gaping hole left in its chest from the sword strike as the Heartless shook violently. As suddenly as the movement started, the Heartless became motionless; a bright light formed within and grew until it escaped through the gaps in the armored pieces to create a glowing heart that soared into the night's sky. The giant Heartless suit of armor dissolved into a large cloud of black mist, leaving the plaza peaceful once more.

The stone tower pillars that blocked the pathways out of the square rumbled as they slid back down into place. Only the off-color tiles that now stood before each alleyway hinted at the stone walled trap that was no longer activated.

The young woman smiled brightly as she turned to look at the stunned faces of the tired Huntresses, the girl's short black hair swaying in the wind. "There you are! You must be Team RWBY. Ryu and Titus were looking all over for you in the Second District."

"You're lucky we found you when we did. Most people don't survive an encounter with a Guard Armor Heartless." The young man turned to face the students from Beacon, his dark eyes lingering on the Keyblades that were clutched in their hands. "Not that you seem to need saving."

"Wow, you're all Keyblade wielders… Zyun was right. Haruka will be so pleased to hear that the Keyblades have presented themselves to all of you. We were expecting one or two of you being future Keyblade users, but all four of you…?" The girl's tone implied her wonder as she turned to face her more stoic companion.

"It's almost unheard of." The man finished as he crossed his arms.

"Not to be rude, but who are you?" Yang asked as she gestured to the unexpected fighters.

Blake nodded at her partner's question, turning to face the unusual pair to make an inquiry of her own. "Why did you save us and how did you kill the Heartless without a Keyblade?"

"How do you know who we are?" Ruby asked, curiosity getting the better of herself leaving no time for the fighters to explain themselves.

"And where in Oum's name, are we?" Weiss finished as she mirrored the man's defiant stance of crossing her arms and arching an eyebrow as she scanned the deserted plaza for more signs of life.

The girl adjusted a cannery yellow scarf that hung about her neck before giving the girls a mocking bow. "I'm the great ninja, Yuffie, of course! And tall, dark, and brooding over here is my friend, Leon. The real question is who are you?"

"I'm Ruby Rose," Ruby explained as she took a step forward and placed a hand on her chest before gesturing to her friends. "And this is the rest of my team – my partner Weiss Schnee, my sister Yang Xiao-Long, and her partner Blake Belladonna. We're Huntresses in training from Beacon Academy, but I have a feeling we're not on Remnant anymore." Ruby gestured vaguely with her left hand to the city around them.

"I'm sorry, this must be so confusing for you." Leon spoke softly as he gestured with his thumb to an alleyway behind him that ended in a large oak door with the number two etched on its surface in golden lettering. "Why don't you follow us to our safe house, we'll do our best to answer any of your questions once we get back."

"Leon's right, it's dangerous to stay out here by ourselves. District Three is always crawling with Heartless. We need to fall back and regroup while it's quiet. Let's grab your other weapons and get out of here." Yuffie explained as she bent down to grab Crescent Rose that was lying off to the side. Ruby made a sound of protest, but was surprised to see that the self-proclaimed ninja was not harmed upon contact with the red painted handle of her baby.

"Here," Yuffie walked over to Ruby, taking an educated guess that the red weapon belonged to the matching red cloaked warrior. "We don't want to leave these behind."

Ruby reached out with her free hand, the smooth metal of the neck of Crescent Rose felt cool to the touch under her fingertips. The young Huntress gasped in surprise as once she held Crescent Rose, her Keyblade disappeared from her hand leaving the girl to wonder where the weapon had gone.

Yuffie laughed at the red fighter's surprise and concern. "Don't worry about it. Your Keyblades will appear when they are needed. Overtime, you will be able to summon them at your will."

"So this is a normal occurrence?" Yang asked as she bent down to grab Ember Celica, locking the golden weapons onto her wrists in their bracelet form. "Having girls drop out of the sky and giant keys appearing out of nowhere?"

"Well you didn't actually fall out of the sky..." Yuffie explained as she watched the monochrome colored duo gather their own weapons, their distinctly colored Keyblades fading from sight upon their palms' contact with the grips of their old swords.

"You're one of the lucky ones. Ryu's gateway allowed you pass through the void into this world without much injury." Leon explained as they followed the stoic man through the winding alleyway out of the plaza and through the oak door into what seemed to a larger section of the town.

"Welcome to Traverse Town!" Yuffie exclaimed as they were met with a stunning sight before them.

The second district was very much like the third, in that it was built so that there was a central plaza that ran the length of a city block while several staircases on the sides led to a raised second level. This raised level was lined with shops of various occupations, each building consisting of architecture that reminded Weiss of the buildings found in Vale, although here all the buildings had matching red roofing. The overall effect gave the place a sense of small town charm that contrasted heavily with the neon lights of store fronts and signage that hung over their heads. To the South entrance of the district, in the direction they were currently walking, a tile mosaic mural depicting spring flowers was featured above a small water fountain that formed a half circle at its base.

Weiss placed a gentle hand on the lower back of her stunned leader, guiding her younger friend towards the rest of the group noticing Ruby had stopped to admire the stunning architecture of the surrounding buildings – although Weiss suspected that one structure in the district stuck out to the young Huntress. Sure enough, Ruby was staring open-mouthed at the large clock tower that was decorated with impressive stained glass windows that lined the front of the imposing white structure. The impressive building towered over the cobblestone plaza on the far Northern end of the district, reminiscent of the soaring religious structures found in Atlas. Weiss felt a dull ache in her chest as she stared at the familiar sight – would she ever see the spiraling towers of her home again?

"Make sure you don't wander these streets alone as the Heartless have made their way back here in District Two. It's not so bad in the day time, but once it reaches twilight this place is infested with those creatures. You will find that the only truly safe area in this town at the moment is District One, so keep that in mind in case you go on any late night strolls admiring the city's sights." Yuffie explained as she led the small group of fighters away from the main plaza and towards a building, whose lights shone brightly on the upper level of the plaza.

"After you…" Yuffie held open a door that led inside the building, once again bending into a small mocking bow as she smiled around at the girls' looks of interest as they entered the living room. Leon rolled his eyes at his friend's exaggerated movements as he gently shut the door behind them.

They were greeted with the sight of small living room that housed a couch with matching chairs which were facing a large fireplace that was currently lit, casting everyone in its warm glow as their eyes adjusted to the low lighting. Sitting in a pair of matching oak chairs on either side of a small round table were Haruka and an older man with a shock of bright golden hair that stood out over green welding goggles which rested on his brow. His kind eyes twinkled in the dancing fire's light as his gaze turned to face the new comers.

"Looks like you found the kids, then. Good work, you two. Better call back the search party." The man grunted as he gestured to the door leading to the shopping district that they were warned would soon be overwhelmed by Heartless. "Took you long enough."

Yuffie flashed the group a smile as she bounced back toward the door. "Hang tight, everyone. I'll go find them." Team RWBY watched the ninja run out, and after a gesture from Leon towards the open seats around the room, each Huntress settled into a waiting chair or open couch.

The man reached up to adjust an unlit cigarette that hung loosely from his lips, his mouth set in a smirk. "The name's Cid – Traverse Town's resident engineer and accessory shop keep. If you need a medical kit, protein bars, or your gummi ship fixed up, I'm your guy." He pointed with his thumb as his broad chest, his smirk widening at their growing confusion.

"Do you really not know what a gummi ship is?" Cid asked in exasperation as he ran a hand over his face at the group's general lack of response. "Amateurs, the lot of you…"

Haruka sighed heavily at the older man's dramatics. "Don't be rude, Cid. This has got to be a tiring experience for everyone." She walked over to the far corner of the room that housed a modest kitchen, the leader of Team HART reaching for a turquoise tea pot. "Would anyone like a cup of tea while we are waiting?" After a general consensus of desire, the tanned skinned girl poured each Huntress a small mug of the amber liquid.

Blake took a tentative sip of the offered tea with hesitation, only to slip into a small smile as the bitter herbs soothed her by means of their familiar taste. Apparently tea was tea, no matter what world she was on. It was a small comfort amongst the constant confusion that had been the last hour.

Haruka glanced over at Leon who had leaned against a small bookshelf that was pushed off to the side of the room. "Where did you find them?"

Leon cast his eyes down to avoid the girl's amethyst eyes, although it did not seem to be a gesture of disrespect, but rather one of contemplation. "District Three. Ryu knew they couldn't have gotten too far, but I doubt that he thought they would have been displaced by a whole district."

Haruka turned to face the young Huntresses, concern softening her features. "Are you all alright?"

Ruby nodded for her team as she took a small sip of her tea. "We're fine… More confused and tired than anything."

Cid nodded in understanding. "You'll get your answers soon."

Leon broke away from his thoughts to glance up at the red cloaked girl. "Ruby, why don't you and your team start by showing that little party trick of yours?"

Cid tilted his head to the side in intrigue while removing the cigarette to rest between his finger tips. "Party trick? What are you getting at, Leon?"

Before Leon could elaborate on his comment, the door to the safe house swung open to reveal Ryu and Titus, with Yuffie in tow. To everyone's surprise Titus sprang forward and enveloped Yang in hug. The brawler's eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected gesture before she relaxed into the hug.

"I'm so glad you're all okay." Titus murmured into her shoulder before springing away and turning to frantically search Blake for any injury. "Everyone alright? We didn't expect to be separated from you with the gateway jump." Blake appeared a bit flustered at the sudden attention, an equally shocked face on her partner at the sudden display of affection from the younger boy.

 _'Oh great, he's a hugger like Yang.'_ Blake thought with amusement as she witnessed Yang recover from being on the receiving end of a surprise hug for once.

Ryu nodded. "I apologize for any anxiety I caused during our team's separation. When not in the proper mindset, the connection between the worlds can cause displacement after materialization."

Titus smiled around at the group of Huntresses. "Basically, we're glad we found you before you ran into any more Heartless. What did we miss?"

"You're a bit late there…" Leon gestured to Ruby and her team with a slight frown on his face. "Team RWBY is about to show everyone what sparked this whole mess. Why don't you give it a go, Ruby?"

"Well, you see… I don't think I can do it on command." Ruby prodded the tips of her pointer fingers together in her awkwardness as she stood up from a wooden chair to face everyone in the room. "But I'll give it my best shot."

Ruby closed her eyes in concentration as the Keyblade wielders' attention focused on the red cloaked girl. Holding out her left hand she summoned the power of her Aura and focused the life-preserving energy into the palm of her hand. Feeling a sudden tingling across her skin, Ruby smiled in glee as her Keyblade appeared in her grasp in a flash of light.

Titus' hazel eyes widened in wonder. "Wow! You're a Keyblade user too?!"

"We all are." Blake answered as she nodded to her other teammates. "The weapons appeared to us while we were in the Third District during a run in with Heartless."

Ruby didn't realize his eyes could grow any wider as the young boy joyously jumped in place. "You're all Keyblade wielders?! We thought it might just be Weiss, but this is great news!"

Ryu stepped forward, his open-toed sandals echoing on the wooden floor as he reached out to clasp a hand on his partner's shoulder. "Is it though? There must always be a balance between the wielders of light and darkness across the worlds. The presence of more Keyblade users generally means that the forces of darkness are gathering in strength."

Haruka nodded, placing a fist into an open palm in determination. "Then the more the merrier. We'll need everyone to fix whatever is happening between the worlds to cause this sudden spike in Heartless activity. But before we start, how about we answer some of your questions?" The tanned woman smiled openly at the four Beacon students, urging them to inquire about recent events without reservation.

"Okay then, let's start with the basics. Where are we?" Ruby asked as she gestured around her to the curtained windows that overlooked the shopping district.

"You are in Traverse Town." Leon explained, as if his comment answered their question without furthering their confusion.

"But what does that mean?" Yang asked as she leaned forward in her seat, her lilac eyes narrowing at his answer.

"It means you are on a different world…" Haruka stated, her voice unwavering as she stared out at the Huntresses.

"So all this talk of worlds when I was fighting Aloy… It's all true?" Weiss asked as she gazed down at her full cup of tea, the amber liquid having gone lukewarm over time.

Haruka crossed her arms and nodded. "Yes, it is not common knowledge to most, but there are countless worlds that exist at the same time. Not much is known on how this came to be, as each world has its own sets of physical and natural laws, people and creatures, as well as timelines."

"What do you mean by timelines?" Yang asked as she arched an eyebrow at the tanned Keyblade wielder.

Ryu beat his leader to an explanation by providing an example for the blonde brawler. "Time is not linear among the different worlds. For example, what we would consider the year 2019 on this world, might be 1407 on your world."

"Hence why, when crossing to other worlds, we must adapt accordingly. But enough about that, I can see you are still confused about parallel worlds. Allow me to explain this in the most simplistic of terms." Haruka moved toward the fireplace, so that her back was facing the room as she continued in her serious explanation. "Some worlds' differences are unrecognizable to another, with the only difference being a small change in what is recognized, or perhaps something drastic in history has been altered beyond recognition."

"The multiverse theory." Blake stated as she watched the leader of Team HART stare at the Faunus in curiosity.

"That is correct." Haruka stated as she flashed a smile at Blake. "I am glad to see that Remnant had some concept of this theory."

"Does that mean that right now there is a world where Remnant is whole and Beacon didn't fall to the Heartless?" Ruby asked as she gazed the bottom of her empty tea mug.

Haruka tilted her head in thought before answering the younger girl. "Perhaps, but discovering such a place is almost impossible to find compared to the ease in which traveling to a world that is more drastically different. The likelihood of discovering a new world is better than finding a sister world of your own."

"Even if such a place existed, one should not look for it." Ryu spoke in lower tones as he leaned against the door frame that led to the other rooms in the safe house.

"Why not?" Ruby asked in sincerity. "If such a place exists, why can't we take refuge there? Maybe try to change things so that they don't meet the same fate."

"I'm sorry, Ruby but you can't." Titus spoke, his normally cheerful face looking crestfallen as he spoke up. "Even if you can find such a place, you could accidently cause more harm than good. Whatever was meant to happen on your world, no longer will be – that timeline no longer exists. Besides, it wouldn't even be your world. You would be living a lie."

"Titus is right." Ryu agreed as he nodded to acknowledge his somber partner. "Going to a sister world of your own can be life threatening. The most common example is that you always have the risk of meeting yourself from that world and that timeline. Doing so can have drastic consequences, which may even result in your copy's death or your own insanity – the human mind being simply unable to process seeing the same soul in two people."

"Besides, who is to say that you are not the copy? How would you handle knowing that you were never meant to exist? But that a simple choice or action on one world resulted in your existence on another…" Haruka trailed off as she turned to gaze back into the depths of the fire.

"Some questions and curiosities should never be answered." Ryu finished as he stared down at his sandaled feet, the older boy clearly lost in thought.

"But enough of this sad talk, you asked where you are. This world is called Traverse Town and it is home to travelers, as well as those who have no home to return to." Titus turned to gesture towards the door that lead out into the city.

"I have a question. How did we get here?" Ruby asked as she moved to face the older boy with his hair in a top-knot. "I assumed it is because of whatever door you made during our last stand in the stadium."

Ryu nodded. "You assumed correctly. My Semblance allows me to access a gateway, or rather physical doorways, which lead to different worlds. I can access a gateway entrance with my Keyblade. It is my powers that allow my teammates and I access to the different worlds. That is how you got here; I used my Semblance to create a gateway to Traverse Town and pulled you all through it. However, during the jump you all lost consciousness resulting in you letting go of our human chain, which made you appear in a different part of the world then where I had tried to place you. Which, had fate not had other plans, would have been right in this living room."

"So if we arrived here because of Ryu's powers, which I am still wrapping my head around, then how did everyone else come here? You said this place was a world of travelers, right?" Yang asked as she stood from her place on the couch next to her partner to pace the wooden flooring in thought.

Ryu ran a hand over the yukata that hung on his waist, smoothing out the orange and black silk that had become wrinkled in the last few minutes. "Some have the means to come here using technology from their worlds, or powers of their own. Others stumbled upon this world by accident. The opposite can be true as well where they sought out this world. And some are displaced by the void of darkness – the very thing that is swallowing your world whole as we speak."

"If people can appear here by accident, then is there a chance that people from our world are here right now?" Ruby asked, jumping to her feet in apprehension as the memory of Team JNPR being swallowed by the growing void of darkness that had torn apart the arena.

"It is entirely possible, but not always the case. Your loved ones could be scattered anywhere amongst the different worlds… That is assuming they survived the journey." Haruka murmured as she turned to face the rest of her companions, just now noticing their various expressions that ranged from shock to horror at the woman's words. "But not all hope is lost. In fact, we believe we have found one of your companions, as she has not stopped asking about you, Ruby."

Ruby looked startled at this reveal. "Me? But who…"

The girl's words where drowned out by the sound of heavy footsteps that rushed down the hallway, before the unseen person skidded into the room with a screech of metal boots caused by the sudden friction against the wood flooring.

"Friend Ruby! You're here!"

"PENNY?!" Ruby was as shocked, as she was filled with joy, Ruby's face showing her bewilderment as the ginger haired girl launched herself into Huntress' short arms, the force of the hug knocking the breath out of the scythe wielder. "Penny… Can't… Breathe."

"Ruby! Friends! I am so glad to see all of you again." Penny smiled brightly as she finally let go of Ruby who had slowly been turning blue in the face from the lack of oxygen.

"Penny, how did you get here? And how did you find us?" Weiss asked as she pulled her partner near her to help rub out her sore muscles from the enthusiastic embrace.

"I went to help General Ironwood with the evacuations of Amity Colosseum once the alarms for Grimm activity were triggered. One minute I was fighting a group of Ursa that had broken through our defenses, and the next I was being sucked into that weird portal in the sky. My programming shut me down until I was found by a nice man named Geppetto who had Cid help reboot my system from the fail-safe shutdown. I've been here for almost a week!"

Penny ignored the looks of confusion on everyone's faces as she continued with her conversation with her friend.

"A week?!" Ruby shouted in surprise. It seemed like only earlier tonight they had been ripped away from her beloved home. "But we've been only gone for a few hours."

"Five days, twenty-three hours, thirty-six minutes… and twelve seconds to be exact!" Penny held up a finger as she corrected her friend. "Time is funny on this world." The ginger-haired girl chuckled at the memory before turning to face the rest of the team from Beacon.

"Honestly, I was surprised by being sucked into the vortex. I am quite heavy after all." She gave Ruby a quick wink that went unnoticed by the rest of the occupants in the room.

"You're not heavy, Penny." Yang tried to reassure the girl, not wanting the Huntress in training from Atlas to be swallowed in body image related self-esteem issues.

"Of course I am, silly. My entire body is made of metal." There was a momentary pause as everyone in the room took in this new information from the smiling ginger.

"WHAT?!" There was a chorus of shocked voices as most of the people in the room were unaware of the Aura producing android that stood before them… Most of them in various states of surprise except…

"Ruby?" Yang turned to stare at her sister in surprise, having noticed the lack of reaction from her leader. Ruby was always well known for being open minded and accepting, but even this was too big of a reveal for the scythe wielder to not have some sort of reaction to the news.

"Uh… Surprise?" Ruby asked as she shrugged her shoulders and looked sheepish at Yang's affronted gaze. "Look, I found out right before the tournament and I promised Penny I wouldn't tell anyone. It wasn't my secret to share."

"Thank you, Ruby. But I believe my programming might be more beneficial to everyone if they knew of my uniqueness." Penny responded while clapping Ruby in the back in thanks, the action sending the smaller girl sprawling into the body of her blushing partner.

"What do you mean by that, Penny?" Blake asked the bow on her head twitched as she tilted her head in curiosity.

"My brain and senses are basically a super computer and scanner that are normally used for navigation and problem solving skills – things that all help me appear human. That, and I am the first android using artificial intelligence that can create its own Aura. But it's my more computer-based origins that matter. While everyone was out looking for you, I've been working with Geppetto and Cid to create an Aura sensing algorithm that can be sent across the different worlds for spikes in Heartless activity." Penny explained proudly as the members of Teams RWBY and HART stared at the ginger in awe. "Besides that, I've been exploring the town. It's quite an amazing world, is it not?"

"Indeed it is. You will find many hidden treasures and all sorts of people here in Traverse Town. The world is as unique as the people who settled here." Haruka explained as she gestured to everyone who was standing in the small living room.

Cid nodded, a smirk gracing his lips as he played with the unlit cigarette that was in his hand. "We are a self made community here. We have our own hospital, library, clothing and supply stores, and a hotel. It's all run by volunteers since Traverse Town is a world made of travelers and the worldless. But we took this place and made it our home - a safe refuge for those who need it."

"Most people who live here have no homes to return to, are world jumpers themselves, or just need a place away from the chaos of the Heartless." Leon remarked, the man leaning against the wall still not looking at up from the floor as he spoke.

"It's not a lot, but its home." Yuffie smiled at the statement. "Leon and I have been on this world for years now. When the worlds were closed off from each other after the last outbreak of Heartless, Leon, Cid, and I decided to stick around town. We've been clearing out Heartless from the different districts to create safe zones for travelers as well as the regular villagers."

Haruka nodded at the ninja's cheery comment. "Leon and Yuffie's effort have allowed us, and countless others, to use this world as a safe zone between worlds when needed. Everyone needs a place to lay low and rest. Likewise, Cid uses his gummi ships to take people home if their worlds were recovered or found again."

Haruka turned to face a clock that stood on the wall, its hands reaching way past midnight. "It's late and you've all had a long day. My team and I will stay here with Cid and the gang, but we'll put up your teammates for the night in the hotel. Don't worry about payment there; we'll take care of it for you. For tonight, take some time to rest. We'll meet back up in the morning to discuss our next move."

Penny turned to smile at her friends. "And I'll stay here and work with Cid on boosting my signal for my algorithm. If I can find where the Heartless are converging, it might be a clue as to where Team JNPR went or how to save our home."

Ruby nodded as she pondered over her thoughts. "That sounds like a solid plan; I believe I speak for my team when I say we could all use the rest. But before we go, can I ask you all a few more questions?"

"Some I'm sure can be left until morning, but if you have any pressing questions I can do my best to answer for you now." Haruka stated as she turned to give the young leader her full attention.

"And I believe that's our cue to leave." Cid sighed as he placed his unlit cigarette back in his mouth. "Leon, Yuffie, I think it's best if we leave them alone to talk. Penny, you can stay if you want but we should try to get some coding done on that algorithm if we want faster results."

Penny smiled and nodded, already turning to the hallway where their rooms were to give the others privacy. "That's alright; I already had a chance to hear everything earlier. I can be filled in on the important stuff later. I need to work on boosting the tracking signal across the worlds." Penny grabbed at her chin in thought. "Do you think we'd get a better signal if I set up one of my radar dishes on the bell tower?"

Without waiting for an answer, Penny waved to her friends in farewell before following Cid and the other fighters out of the main room and into the depths of the house.

After watching her friend go, Ruby placed her hand on her chin while she thought over all of her burning questions that had plagued her mind since she had woken up in the plaza of District Three. "Why was your team on Remnant? And did you know that the Heartless were going to attack that night?"

Haruka held her gaze for a brief second, taking in the girl's confusion and look of pain as Ruby thought of her home that was being consumed by darkness as they spoke. "We arrived on Remnant because of my brother, Zyun. You see, before we traveled to your world he was part of our group of Keyblade wielders. Together the five of us would travel across the different worlds, protecting everyone from Heartless and sealing away their Keyholes so that no more Heartless could appear on that world."

She paused to allow her words to sink in to the new comers, seeing everyone's looks of confusion she continued on in her explanation. "Zyun's power, or Semblance as you call it on your world, allows him to sense the amount of light and darkness in people's hearts. With this ability, Zyun can predict if someone has the potential to wield a Keyblade, even if they had not yet been chosen by Kingdom Hearts. He could also sense the whereabouts of the Princesses of Heart – seven women whose hearts are so pure that they can be used to open the doors to Kingdom Hearts."

"Opening the doors of Kingdom Hearts would flood the worlds with either pure light or darkness." Titus took over the explanation, tapping his fidgeting fingers against his brown cargo pants. "While this is not the only way to access Kingdom Hearts, it is the main way that the people who control the Heartless know how to flood the worlds with their dark creatures. Which would be very bad."

"Zyun could also sense who the masters of the Heartless were too, making him a target to those who wished to seek this power." Ryu spoke up, gaining the attention of the Huntresses. "There has always been a balance of good and evil – light and darkness – in this universe. But Zyun's Semblance allowed him to tip this balance in favor of one side or the other. Luckily for us, he has always sided with the light. Which is what led us to you."

Weiss raised her hand to interrupt, causing Ruby to giggle at her proper social etiquette. "I have a quick question, you talk about light and darkness as if they are… well, alive. Why?"

Haruka nodded in understanding. "While the light and darkness are not alive like you and I are, they do exist as powerful opposing forces that can influence the fate of the worlds. They may not live and breathe, but make no mistake that they are very much alive, and unfortunately, at war."

"That's… concerning." Weiss stated as she remembered the old stories of the brother Gods of Light and Darkness from the fairytales she was told as a child by her butler and trusted friend, Klein. From her understanding, something similar was happening here but on a grander scale than just Remnant. No wonder they were scared by the appearance of more Keyblades. That would only mean the darkness was growing in size and power too.

"Indeed it is. About a month ago Zyun felt the light choose new Keyblade wielders on your world, specifically in Vale, as well as the darkness seduce people all over Remnant. We did not know at the time who or how many people had been chosen in this war between the light and the darkness, but we couldn't leave this up to fate. Because of this, we decided to travel to your world and try to find the Keyblade users, as well as seal away the Keyhole before those who could now control the Heartless made their move. But before we could leave for Remnant, Zyun vanished." Haruka sighed, lost in memories of the night when she discovered her brother was missing without a clue of his whereabouts.

She sighed again before continuing in her tale. "We suspected the Heartless users had taken him, but we had no proof or confirmation of this fact until we came to your world and a woman named Cinder appeared to Aloy during the tournament."

Ruby's eyes widened as she was hit with a vivid memory. "Wait a minute! I remember seeing Cinder talk to Aloy before her fight with Weiss. She showed your partner something on her scroll minutes before the match."

Haruka nodded. "Indeed. It was only after talking to Aloy once we had arrived here that she confirmed what we had suspected. The masters of darkness had taken Zyun, threatening to kill him unless Aloy tried to hurt or kill Weiss. We suspect they kidnapped him for his powers, or rather to tip the scales in their favor by locating future Heartless users. Likewise, we can assume they threatened Aloy and wanted to hurt Weiss as a distraction for our team so that they could trigger the world's end before we had a chance to seal away the Keyhole and keep everyone safe."

Ryu nodded as he listened to his leader's explanation. "Unfortunately for us, their plan succeeded. We traveled to your world, hoping to blend in and take our time to get a feel for Remnant before finding the Keyhole. We had hoped that by entering the tournament we could seek out the Keyblade wielders, since your world is very open about carrying and using weapons, it would have been easy to spot them. It was our own naivety that made us unprepared for everything that happened."

Ryu paused as he lowered the collar of his skin-tight shirt that normally hid his lower face. In the soft light of the fire, worry lines could be seen etched on his face. This made the boy appear older than he was, as Ryu sighed deeply closing his slanted amber eyes at the action. "We thought we had weeks before their plans could be carried out, but in reality we only had hours. I am sorry for the pain and trouble that has befallen on your world because of our mistakes."

"You didn't do this. Cinder did." Ruby stated as she gripped her hands into fists in her anger. "Stop blaming yourself for what happened to Remnant. We were just as powerless to stop it."

Yang cleared her throat, catching the attention of the story tellers. "Speaking of power... Why were we chosen by the Keyblades? After all, we're just kids. I mean, don't get me wrong, Team RWBY is awesome… But honestly, we're no more special than half of our school."

Haruka scoffed at Yang's boasting, before her smile slipped into a more serious expression. "While we were in Vale we were able to access your school records and it was very impressive: Top of your class, your team managed to stop a destructive sociopath and violent extremists, multiple run-ins with local gangsters, and helped stopped a Grimm invasion – all great feats of heroes. But what stood out to us most was something that could not be written in those reports. You are all true of heart, willing to put your lives on the line for what you believe in and helping others, and always wanting to do the right thing all in the name of justice and peace. I suspect that is why all four of you were chosen. Although, I wonder if even the light can make a mistake." Haruka shot a glare at the white-haired Heiress, ignoring the loud sighs from her teammates.

Weiss let out an affronted, _'Hey!'_ at the passive aggressive comment. But before she could shoot back a retort, Blake interrupted her.

"Where is Aloy, anyway? We didn't see her during the battle at Beacon." The Faunus' bow twitched as she glanced around the room, half expecting the silver-haired woman to appear from out of the walls.

Titus jerked a thumb over at the hallway to their right. "Ryu brought her here before coming back to get us. She's resting in one of the guest bedrooms."

"Would it be alright if I were to talk to her briefly?" Weiss asked looking at the other members of HART, Titus shrugging in reply. "I never got to speak with her after our match."

"I don't see why not, I'm sure she would like to catch up with you too. She was asking about you earlier." Titus smirked, watching his leader roll her eyes and avoid Weiss' questioning gaze.

Yang stood up from her chair, gaining the attention of everyone in the room before locking eyes with Haruka. "I do have one question… Our home… Remnant… Is our home gone? Or can it be saved?

Haruka briefly glanced at her teammates before turning to lock eyes with the blonde brawler. "I would not give up hope on saving your home world, although doing so might be difficult. We still don't know what caused this outbreak of Heartless to arise so quickly and in such numbers. From my understanding, Heartless are spreading to the other worlds with enough numbers to cause another world to collapse. Even if we found the cause for this spike in Heartless activity, without knowing who the new Heartless masters are, they can just continue to wipe out all the worlds and yours with it."

Ryu nodded at his leader's words. "Haruka is right. Our first priority is finding the cause of the Heartless attacks and who was behind the attempt of your world's demise. We still have time before your world is consumed, and if we act now we can stop the Heartless and those who control them long enough to find a solution to this mess."

Ruby hummed in agreement before standing up and clenching her fists in resolve. "Then it's settled. Tonight we rest up and heal… It's been a long day and we need to let our Auras recharge. But tomorrow we start our journey and travel to these other worlds to find out what's going on with the Heartless. And while we are out searching, we can look for people from our world – loved ones, friends, even strangers and bring them back here until it's safe for everyone to return home."

Yang tilted her head and frowned at her sister's sure resolution. "We need to make sure they have a home to return to first, Ruby."

Ruby slammed a balled fist into her palm in emphasis. "If we all work together then I know we can save Remnant."

"Aren't you forgetting one small detail, Ruby." Blake mentioned as she gestured vaguely with her hand in the air. "Travelling to another world is fine and all, but how would we get there?"

"With my help, of course." Ryu simply stated, his expression remaining withdrawn despite the questioning looks he was receiving from the Huntresses. He glanced over at his leader who nodded in return, gesturing at the taller boy to continue. "While there are many ways to travel to the other worlds, my gateways will make the traveling time faster than even taking one of Cid's gummi ships. Besides, you need someone who is familiar with the other worlds and world jumping to help you on your journey."

"Ryu is right. We will join you on your mission." Haruka smiled faintly before her amethyst eyes scanned over the young Huntresses who were stunned at the offer of help. "Luckily for you, my team is well experienced with traveling to different worlds, and our abilities allow us to adapt to their cultures better than most. Besides, this partnership would benefit us all. You need to find your missing friends; the ones we saw sucked into the void in the arena, and save your home. And my team needs answers about the Heartless gathering, we need more Keyblade users to keep the balance in this war, and we need to find my brother. If we travel together we have a better chance at success on all fronts."

Titus looked around at Team RWBY with a solemn expression, something that looked out of place on his normally cheery disposition. "I'm sorry you're being dragged into this mess. The Heartless, the war between the light and the darkness, losing your home… All of it."

Ruby stepped forward until she was close enough to clasp a hand onto his shoulder in reassurance. "Don't apologize. We're Huntresses, Titus. Saving the world and getting into crazy adventures is what we're trained to do." Ruby smiled and glanced back at her team before she turned to face the other leader. "We'll gladly accept the help. Thank you, Haruka."

"Don't thank us yet. We have a long way to go before things start looking up." Haruka replied as she took stock of her teammates, her heart clenching knowing that two other people should be standing with them. Aloy was simply out of commission because of the extent of her injuries, although how that would affect their group dynamic was one she had hoped they would never have to experience again. And as for Zyun… who knows how that loveable dork was doing alone, holding his own against his captors.

Haruka bit her lip and felt her eyes become misty as her thoughts lingered on her friends and missing family. _'Hang in there, Brother. We're coming for you.'_

The Keyblade wielder was distracted from her thoughts as Ruby raised her hand, drawing the eyes of everyone in the room before clasping her hands together. "I have one last question before we call it a night, if that's okay?" She smiled sheepishly at everyone gathered in the room, knowing full well how exhausted everyone had to be from the night's events.

"Of course, Ruby. What do you want to know?" Titus asked, his lips turning into his signature grin as he watched the girl fidget with the hem of her black combat skirt before speaking.

"Well if we are going to work with your team, I think we should know what your weaknesses and strengths are in a fight. Such as an explanation of your Semblances and any limitations you might have. We will, of course, fill you in on our fighting styles and Semblances too. Although our fighting techniques will need some work since using a Keyblade is very different then what we are used to."

"Don't worry, Ruby. We'd be happy to show you the ropes." Titus smirked as he tapped Missing Ache from where it rested on his back. "These babies still have a few tricks up their sleeves, and while learning to use them properly will take time, it's well worth it. I promise." He flashed his smirk at Yang, knowing full well that as a hand-to-hand close combat brawler, she would have a hard adjustment period.

Haruka leaned away from the wall to stand at attention before the group of girls around the room. "A necessary discussion to have, I am sure. But on that will take time to discuss. Fortunately, those are questions that can be answered at a more reasonable hour. Go to the hotel and get some rest, I have a feeling you're going to need it. Now if you will excuse me, I need to have a quick word with my partner before you speak with her." Haruka shot the Heiress a glare. She turned with a swish of her half-cape, the chains of keys rattling from her abrupt departure from the living room and into the connected hallway.

"Well, that was a thing." Yang commented sarcastically as she watched the leader's dramatic exit. "Why is she so upset with you, Ice Queen?"

"No idea…" Weiss sighed as she pondered what she had done to affront the woman, but came up empty.

Ruby moved so that she could share a small smile with her own partner. "Yang, Blake, and I will go set up our rooms at the hotel. When it's ready, I'll come back to get you – aright?"

"Thanks, Ruby." Weiss gave Ruby a small crooked smile in return.

The red cloaked girl's smile widened into a full grin before she ushered her teammates out of the house, leaving the Heiress to wait a few minutes in silence to give the women some privacy before searching the safe house for Aloy. Weiss held her head high as she believed it was time for a much needed chat.

[-][-][-]

Aloy sighed as she heard the murmured voices of multiple people coming from the living room down the hall. The distinct ticking of a cuckoo clock filled the tense silence that sat between them like a heavy cloud as Aloy processed what Haruka had just explained.

Aloy shifted on the bed as she adjusted the bandages that wrapped around her torso before locking eyes with her partner. "Are you sure about this?"

Haruka nodded, a deep-set frown on her face. "My visions have never been wrong, Aloy. You know this."

Aloy hummed in acknowledgement as she broke off their stare and turned to examine a painting that sat on display on the far wall. The silver-haired woman became lost in thought as she observed the pastel oils on canvas. "Are you sure you aren't taking out of this what you want to see? You know that sometimes things are not always what they appear."

Haruka sighed deeply. "I don't see how it can possibly be anything else. I know what I saw… This isn't one of those visions that we can just ignore."

"But why not? I see no reason to worry about this unless the situation presents itself." The injured woman waved off her friend's worry with a vague gesture of her hand.

Haruka's eyes widened in shock and waved her arms in anger. "No reason? NO REASON?! Aloy, you can't be serious right now. How can you expect me to ignore this when she will constantly be a reminder of it. Aloy, I'll have to see her everyday…"

Aloy arched an eyebrow at her friend's theatrical reaction, before opening her palms facing up in a pacifying gesture. "And I am here, safe and sound in Traverse Town. What could you have to possibly fear when we will be worlds apart?"

Haruka shook her head slowly, her words spoken in a slow cadence. "I don't understand how you can just choose to ignore this."

Aloy shrugged at her partner's words. "I choose to trust her."

"Then you choose death." Haruka spoke harshly, her amethyst eyes flashing in the dim lighting of the spare bedroom.

Aloy scoffed at her words, clutching her hurt ribs at the action. "Don't be so dramatic…"

"Being concerned for the safety of my friends is not being dramatic." Haruka stated with a roll of her eyes.

Aloy's icy blue eyes harden into cold steel, the injured woman crossing her arms and squaring her jaw in anger. "No, being dramatic is forcing me to stay behind while you leave to save the worlds."

Haruka mirrored her partner's stern gaze, her voice dropping into a dangerously low tone. "Aloy, you weren't thinking clearly during the tournament, and because of your actions, you almost died! You know _full well_ that you need stay here because of your injuries…"

"And if I have to remain in the only place in the universe where it's safe from harm, it's all for the best?" Aloy snidely remarked before her face hardened in anger. "Is that all I am to you? Someone to control?!"

Haruka's eyes flashed darkly, her face falling into shadows. "Aloy, I know you. Think about what you are saying. You know I would _never_ …"

Aloy's face contorted in rage. "You don't know me at all… _I don't even know me!"_

"Aloy!" Haruka's shout finally broke through to the injured girl. Aloy's face fell as she realized what she had said, hiding her shame behind her hands as she placed her face in her palms.

"You know that has never mattered to me, Aloy. It has been an amazing experience watching you discover who you are and defining yourself through our adventures. But I have never judged you for your lack of past." Haruka paused, her voice softening into low murmurs. "I know you're frustrated about your circumstances and being injured. Needing to remain on this world on top of everything must be beyond painful for you, I understand. But it's time you stop focusing on what you don't have and focus on what you do. I know you want to go with us, but there is still so much you can do here to help."

Aloy lifted her face from her hands, her steel-blue eyes red rimmed as she held back tears of shame and frustration. The older woman took a deep breath through her mouth and slowly released it through her nose until her heart rate slowed. "You're right… I'm sorry."

"I know." Haruka gave her partner a small smile before reaching out to hold one of Aloy's bandaged hands. "And I'm sorry, too. For making you think I'm forcing you to stay on this world. I just want you to get better, Aloy. When you're well again, we'll come back to get you, or you can borrow one of Cid's gummi ships to join us. But what matters is that I do expect you to join us again, but only when you are well enough to fight without re-opening your wounds. I don't want you to think I'm abandoning you, Aloy. I almost lost you on Remnant… I just want to make sure you're fully healed before you jump back into the fray."

"Okay… Thank you." Aloy sighed and used her spare hand to rub at her irritated eyes, before shyly glancing up at the brunette in apprehension. "Haruka, are we good?"

The woman smiled softly before squeezing Aloy's hand while still being mindful of the cuts that littered her skin under the bandages. "Yeah, we're good."

"Good." Aloy fidgeted in her bed before deliberately avoiding Haruka's gaze. "You know, we never did talk about what happened to me during the match. What I saw… Or what I thought I saw with your brother. I knew he wasn't there, and yet I saw him before me covered in blood, begging me to help him. Goading me to kill Schnee so that he could live… Something we both know he would never say, and yet I saw him clear as day before me. One minute it was just Schnee and I in that arena and the next, Zyun stood before me… Am I crazy?" Aloy's eyes flashed with fear at the notation of losing her mind as well as her memories.

Haruka pursed her lips in response. "Is that what's bothering you so much? Aloy, you're not crazy. You are forgetting that I see things all the time." Haruka raised an eyebrow at Aloy's sheepish demeanor.

"You know that it's not the same." Aloy replied, her shoulders hunching in worry.

Haruka hummed in agreement, but then closed her eyes in thought. "I am finding out quickly that the world of Remnant is a rather unique place with people possessing a variety of rare abilities… I believe that you were correct in your original assumption that someone else was manipulating you during your match… So indeed, you are not crazy."

Aloy paused to ponder her predicament before nodding to herself. She locked eyes with her partner, giving her a serious stare. "Then be on your guard. Whoever was making me see those things is still out there."

"I'll be careful." Haruka rolled her eyes at her partner's concern. _'Oh how the tables had turned…'_

"You better be." Aloy smirked as she leaned over to playfully nudge Haruka's shoulder with her own. The small movement made the stitches on her back sting from the pull of the puckered flesh, but it was worth it to see Haruka smile.

Aloy's attention was drawn away from her friend by the sound of someone knocking on the door frame.

Weiss cleared her throat and shifted her eyes away from the duo, grabbing at her right arm in awkwardness. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I was hoping to have word with you, Aloy, before it gets too late tonight."

Aloy smiled, before nodding to her teammate in reassurance – the other woman having shot Aloy a glance of concern. "Of course, Schnee. Come on in. I'm sure you have a lot of questions since we didn't get a chance to talk after our match."

Weiss nodded in her thanks as she stepped forward into the room, while still hovering away from the pair.

Haruka's eyes narrowed as she watched the Heiress fidget off to the side of the room before the tanned woman sighed and turned to address her hurt partner. "I'll leave you to it then. Good night, Aloy. Give a shout if you need anything, I'll be right next door." She squeezed her partner's wrapped hand once more before letting go.

"Good night, Haruka. I'll be sure to see you all off tomorrow." Aloy smiled as she watched the brunette stand from her bedside chair and turn to leave the two girls to their privacy.

Haruka smiled her thanks before moving to the doorway, managing to glare at the fidgeting Heiress before making her way out of the room, her purple and silver cape vanishing around the corner in a flash of color and rattling chains.

The tension released from the Heiress' shoulders as she felt the amethyst eyes that had burned into her disappear down the hallway, leaving Weiss alone with Aloy for the first time since their battle back at Beacon.

Had it really only been a few hours before? It felt like their match had been days ago. Her concussion probably wasn't helping with her perception of time. Weiss scrunched her nose briefly knowing full well that she smelled of blood, sweat, and traces of vomit since she had yet to take a bath. Although now was not the time to be concerned with presentation and social etiquette. Weiss just wanted a chance to speak with the older Keyblade wielder before she would have to leave Traverse Town, not knowing if the silver-haired woman would be physically well enough to join them on their mission exploring new worlds. Although a quick glance at Aloy's form showed a distinct lack of IV fluids and blood bags, the equipment must have been left behind during the Heartless attack.

"I'm sorry if I did something to upset her…" Weiss began her apology only to be stopped by a hand gesture from the injured woman.

Aloy waved off Weiss' concern with a roll of her eyes and an easy going smile of her own. "Haruka has always been a bit over-protective, to the point of abrasiveness. Please pay no mind to her actions. She'll cool off eventually."

Weiss nodded, although she wasn't entirely convinced by Aloy's crooked grin. "How are you doing?"

Aloy sighed and smiled tiredly. "I've been better, but I've also been worse. Yourself?"

Weiss tilted her head as she considered her current health. "I'm alright. I just have a nasty concussion, but that will heal once my Aura comes back in full."

"As much as I appreciate the sentiment, I assume you wanted to speak with me about something other than my current condition. Isn't that right, Schnee?" Aloy smirked at the lightly blushing Heiress at being called out.

"You're right." Weiss took the spare chair that lay to the left of Aloy's bed. She smoothed out the wrinkles in her skirt and crossed her legs in a lady-like manner before tilting her head at the injured woman. "But first, why do you call me Schnee?"

Aloy raised an eyebrow in surprise, before she shrugged. "Because you have a last name, one it sounds like you should be proud of."

Weiss scoffed as she picked at the sleeve to her white bolero. "It's more of a cage than anything else."

Aloy nodded slowly. "True… But it's still your name. After all, a name is only what you make of it."

There was a pause as Weiss considered Aloy's words before the Heiress fidgeted in her seat, uncertain on how to best approach the subject.

Noticing Weiss' discomfort, Aloy sighed before smirking at the awkwardness between them. "Just speak your mind, Schnee. What it is?"

Weiss took a deep breath before looking down at her clasped hands. "I'm sorry for making it feel like you couldn't trust me enough before the match to explain that Cinder had threatened Zyun and blackmailed you. If I had known you were struggling so much with what was asked of you, then I could have tried to help you figure out a plan of action before we were in the arena."

Aloy looked surprised, straightening up in her bed so that she was in a sitting position. A baize blanket slipped down from her torso to lay pooled at her waist.

"You have nothing to apologize for." Aloy shook her head slowly at the Heiress' words. "You had no idea what had happened. How were you supposed to know what was going on?"

Weiss tilted her head in thought. "Still, I am sorry."

Aloy locked eyes with the white-haired girl. "Very well, I will accept your apology only if you can forgive me for what I put you through. I believe that fault is none but my own. I thought I could handle it by myself and clearly I was wrong. And during the match I did not have the strength to control my Darkside, and as a result, I almost got you killed."

Weiss shook her head. "Don't be so hard on yourself. We were placed into an impossible situation. And because of this, we did the best we could."

"But I miscalculated the seriousness of our situation and that almost cost us everything… I'm sorry." Aloy's shoulders slumped as she sighed and glanced around the room before resting her gaze on the Heiress once more. "I should not have gotten so emotional when I learned of Zyun's fate. He might be Haruka's biological older brother, but he acted as a big brother to all of us. He was our strategist, always getting us out of whatever trouble Titus had accidentally gotten us into. And he had one of the biggest hearts of us all."

Aloy smiled, chuckling to herself as she got lost in her memories. "He was the first person Ryu opened up to on the team, finally getting the kid to talk after everything that had happened to him. We used to joke that Haruka and Zyun adopted the team, basically acting like a mother and father figure to us in most situations; always acting wise beyond their years. But Zyun was our group's confidant. You could sit with him for hours and talk and he would just sit there and listen, never asking anything in return. It's been hard without him and it's taking a toll on our team."

Weiss let a small smile grace her lips. "I think I understand. Yang is the same way for our team - a real mother hen. Probably because she basically raised Ruby on her own for most of her life and Yang never really left that role when she was placed on our team. Rather she adapted and took us all under her wing. I can't imagine what would happen to our team if she was taken from us."

They sat in silence for a few moments, both women lost to their memories as the soft ticking of the clock broke the otherwise tranquil moment.

"Thank you for understanding." Aloy whispered in hushed tones as she ran a bandaged hand over her arm.

"We'll find him, Aloy…" Weiss' voice trailed off as her gaze lingered on Aloy's body, taking in her injuries and her appearance as this was the closest they had become since their match. The Keyblade wielder was still in her crisp white pants, her feet hidden by a soft blanket that was draped around her waist. But what caused Weiss' unabashed staring was that Aloy was most definitely not wearing a shirt, their close proximity allowing Weiss to observe the severity of Aloy's injuries.

Aloy was incredibly well fit, her muscled form impressing the prudish Heiress as a faint blush rose to Weiss' cheeks as she observed the injured woman's body. But what truly drew Weiss' focus was the myriad of scars that littered Aloy's skin, which were only partially hidden by thick white bandages. Weiss held her breath as her fingertips hovered over the scars, her curiosity drawing her closer to the injured woman before her. With her hand outstretched reaching for Aloy's skin, the inquisitive Heiress remained just on this side of respecting the Keyblade wielder's personal boundaries.

Weiss' cool gaze traced the maze of scarred tissue, reading the tapestry and topography of Aloy's history as inscribed on her body, as easily as ink on parchment written in a book and waiting to be read. Thick ropy scar tissue lined the woman's muscled back, smaller nicks and cuts that crawled up from her lithe fingers and up along her forearms, and a jagged puckered scar that rested on the silver-haired woman's right abdomen.

Weiss was startled out of her focus by the teasing tone of Aloy's voice, breaking through of her intrusive thoughts and making Weiss jerk her hovering hand back as if she had been burned.

"It would be easier to take a picture, Schnee." Aloy teased as she shamelessly smirked at the white-haired girl, her steel eyes flashing with a hint of mischief.

Weiss balked at the lewd comment. "I beg your pardon?"

Aloy chuckled at the Heiress' prude attitude before smirking at her companion. "I just figured you would want a photograph of my body since you can't help but stare, I'll even flex for you." She winked as the light blush that had dusted Weiss' features blazed into a fiery inferno.

"Are you always this flirtatious?" Weiss asked, her voice slurring into a drawl as she rolled her eyes at the woman's shameless display.

"I just like seeing you flustered." Aloy's smirk widened before she broke into a barking laugh while Weiss' blush deepened. So much so, that she was in danger of lightheadedness as all the blood in her body rushed to bloom across her cheeks, across her neck, and seep down her chest.

Ruby cleared her throat loudly, her silver eyes down cast as she drew her partner's attention away from the attractive silver-haired woman. Both women had failed to notice that Ruby had knocked on the door's frame before entering.

"Sorry to interrupt, but the hotel rooms are ready. Just come by when you're done here, Weiss." Ruby spoke, looking down at the floor to avoid her partner's gaze.

"And who are you?" Aloy asked her smile still on her face as she glanced back and forth between Weiss and the red cloaked girl.

Ruby straightened her back and plastered a smile on her face as she held out a hand for the older woman to shake. "The name's Ruby Rose. I'm Weiss' partner and leader of Team RWBY."

Weiss raised a perfectly arched eye brow her partner in confusion. It sounded like Ruby had attempted to deepen her voice, and had adjusted her normally slouched posture so she appeared taller. _'What's going on with Ruby? She's acting really weird.'_

Aloy cocked her head to the side and raked her steely blue eyes up and down the girl's form, before flashing Ruby a smile and accepted her hand in a handshake.

"Aloy, member of Team HART. It's a pleasure to meet you." She flashed the younger girl a dazzling smile.

"Likewise." Ruby clipped the ending syllable as her jaw clenched before she released Aloy's hand.

"Is it really?" Aloy raised her eyebrows in question, struggling and failing to hide her smirk behind her hand as she watched the red-tipped brunette huff in displeasure at the woman's easy-going nature. Aloy laughed and waved off the girl's irritation. "I'm just messing with you."

The silver-haired woman turned back to face Weiss, who had watched the whole exchange with growing confusion. "Schnee, before you turn in for the night, I was hoping you could humor me with something."

This caught the Heiress' attention as she moved in her chair so that she was facing the injured woman once more. "What can I do for you?"

"I was hoping you would allow me to share my Aura with you. I have a theory I wanted to test before you leave Traverse Town." Aloy asked as she held out her right palm face up in offering.

Weiss' face set in a small frown as her eyes shifted to her partner who was doing her best to ignore them off to the side of the room before Weiss nodded her consent. "Sure, just don't push yourself."

Weiss held up her left hand and focused what little Aura she had regenerated into her palm so that it buzzed with energy, her hand turning white as her Aura visibly flashed with the effort to maintain the connection."What are you looking for?"

They touched palms lightly, their fingers remaining splayed as Aloy closed her eyes to activate her Aura. Her long slender fingers glowing faintly white as her own Aura reacted to the Heiress' life-energy. "Something that happened to us during the match. It only occurred for a few seconds… But I do believe this is something worth noting."

Weiss narrowed her eyes as she felt her Aura jump, skip, and flash in bursts of power before vibrating as their Auras grew brighter at their combined hands. It was a jarring experience, Weiss' Aura reacting so fiercely to Aloy's.

Ruby glanced away from their interaction, a faint blush creeping up her neck and into her cheeks. She knew from personal experience that sharing your Aura with someone was considered a very personal and intimate moment – something that was mostly only done with partners or family. Ruby had shared hers multiple times with Yang when they would train together to practice Aura control and only once with Weiss. The Heiress had shared her Aura with Ruby after they had bonded over a late night conversation on the roof of their dorm while stargazing a few weeks before the Vytal Tournament had taken place. It was a memory Ruby knew she would cherish for the rest of her life, and now seeing Weiss share her Aura so easily with Aloy filled her with jealousy and a bit of sadness. Not that she would ever say this to Weiss, trusting her to know the seriousness of her actions at this breach of partnership.

Aloy hummed, squeezing her hand on Weiss' once to communicate breaking the connection before both women withdrew her hands, the room dimming as their white Auras no longer lit the room with their brilliant glow. "Thank you, Schnee. It seems that my Aura is still acting odd around yours. Since your world is more familiar with your soul, or Aura, being an actual physical force compared to a non-tangible entity found on most worlds, I was hoping you could explain this phenomenon."

Weiss nodded as she stared at her palm which still tingled even without activating her Aura. "I noticed it too during our match. As you probably discovered on our world, Auras are the manifestation of a person's soul. Because of this, our Auras can act differently depending on our surroundings, often acing odd since it can sense the host's emotions, as well as any strong bonds between souls. Negative emotions such as longing, sadness, fear, and anger can trigger our Aura in warning. On the other hand, it can also flare to show no ill intent or even recognize family, friends, and teammates."

Aloy nodded as she took in all this information. "If this is the case, then be careful when traveling across the worlds when facing Heartless. They want to consume people's hearts, and since your Aura and Semblance is tied to your soul, then their presence could affect the Heartless in ways we might not yet understand. Since your souls play a more powerful and active part in your lives then for most of us, you'll need to be careful to protect your heart from the Heartless and their masters."

Aloy paused as she rubbed at her tingling palm with her other hand. "Who knows what they could do if they got a hold of your heart, not to mention what would happen to you? Would you simply become a Heartless like someone else, or would you only be stripped of your powers? Either option does not bode well for you or anyone from your world. Likewise, there is a good chance that any Heartless in the area will be more attracted to your team since your hearts are so strong and full of light. While you're out there, make sure to keep us in the loop, alright? The more we know about this the better prepared we can be."

Weiss nodded. "Of course. But how will we be able to contact you? I doubt we can get scroll signal out on the different worlds. I barely got full bars in our dorm room at Beacon."

"I believe your charming friend, Penny Polendina, is coming up with a solution to that issue. I'm sure between her mind and Cid's knowledge of the worlds, they can figure something out for us." Aloy smiled reassuringly at the Heiress. "Now unless there is anything else you wished to speak to me about, I think it's time to call it a night."

Weiss smiled and waved off Aloy's comment. "That's it for now. Thank you, Aloy for speaking with me."

"Of course, Schnee. Have a good night. I'll let your partner see you out as I am stuck in this bed for the evening." Aloy commented as she grabbed the baize blanket and drew it up to her shoulders, no doubt about to sleep the moment they left her room. The poor woman needed the rest just as much, if not more than them.

"Good night, Aloy." Weiss stood up and curtsied briefly before leaving the room with Ruby on her heels. They walked in silence as they reached the living room, noticing that Yang and Blake had waited for them, resting on the couch sipping their tea. Both woman paid little attention to their teammates as Ruby pushed ahead to lead her friends to the hotel for the night. The young leader pushed the door open that led into the neon lit streets with so much strength the door bounced off its hinges before slamming into place behind Yang, who trailed behind the red and white duo with Blake at her side.

"What's your problem, Ruby?" Weiss asked, stopping their progression along the thankfully empty sidewalks, crossing her arms and popping a hip in confusion.

Ruby looked down at the cobbled pavement and toed at a loose stone with the soft sole of her boot. "It's nothing…"

Weiss sighed heavily while rolling her eyes at her partner's obvious distress. "Well, it's clearly not 'nothing' if it's bothering you this much." She used her fingers to create air quotation marks as she spoke. Her shoulders relaxed as she softened her tone to cut the bite of her words. "Just talk to me, Ruby."

Ruby sighed and kicked at a stone pebble so that it skidded across the cobbled pavement ahead of her. "You willingly shared your Aura with Aloy."

"I did…" Weiss tilted her head, her lips pursing in confusion. "I just don't understand what's the big deal, Ruby?"

Ruby snorted and huffed in annoyance before turning away so that her trademark red cloak faced her partner and teammates as she marched towards the entrance of the hotel. "Forget I said anything, Weiss. Let's just go to bed and get some rest."

Weiss slowed down to hang back with Blake so that Yang could speed up to be at Ruby's side.

"Everything alright there, Sis?" Yang asked in muttered tones, knowing full well that Blake's extra ears would over hear her conversation. The hope was that Weiss would take no notice of their whispers as the Heiress was distracted by Blake. Weiss was given a light squeeze on her shoulder by her Faunus teammate who shot the white-haired girl a small reassuring smile.

Ruby hooked her thumbs on her belt and scoffed loudly. "I'm perfect, never been better."

Without looking at the rest of her teammates, Ruby picked up the pace of her walk so that she entered the hotel first, slowly followed by a slightly downtrodden Weiss who wished the yellow and black pairing a good night before following her upset leader into the red roofed building.

The black bow on Blake's head twitched as amber eyes narrowed in concern at the dramatic scene between their teammates. "Should we tell her?"

Yang waved her off with a bright smile. "Ruby's a big girl; she'll figure it out eventually."

Blake's eyes softened as she entered the hotel's lobby followed by her partner. "But it's so painful to watch. This whole 'will they, won't they thing.'" She used her hands to mimic an unbalanced scale tipping one way or another before they wandered the hallways together that lead to their rooms.

"Yup." Yang popped the 'p' in the word before she leisurely walked down the carpeted hallway while she stretched her arms behind her head. "Luckily we have front row seats for this whole thing. We're just missing popcorn for the show."

Blake cocked a dark eyebrow at her partner's humor. "And whose idea was it to have partners sharing the hotel rooms?"

"Yours, if I remember correctly." Yang answered, smirking at her partner's cheek.

"Then you can thank me later for the show." Blake winked at Yang who burst into laughter. The dark-haired Faunus rubbed her palms together while she shot her partner a wicked grin. "Not to mention, when I booked the rooms… I added a twist."

"Oh… And what would that be?" Yang raised an eyebrow as she smirked at her conniving partner. "What trick do you have up your sleeve this time, Belladonna?"

Blake smirked, her amber eyes glinting with mirth. "Well, I booked our room with two twin sized beds."

Yang came to an abrupt halt to stare at her partner in shock. "You didn't…"

Blake shrugged, her smirk growing into a devilish grin. "Oh yes, I did."

As if on cue, the black and yellow duo was interrupted by a high pitched screech emitting from down the hall that reached a decimal level that could shatter glass.

"Why, in Oum's name… _IS THERE ONLY ONE BED?!"_

Blake and Yang burst into hysterical laughter as they quickly retreated down the hall and away from Weiss' yelling that would no doubt turn into a full blown, trademark Ice Queen freak-out.

After retreating to a safe distance down the hall, the pair slowed to a walk. Both girls strolling in contented silence until they reached a large purple painted wooden door with the number seven in golden lettering, marking the room as theirs. They paused while Blake fished out a key from her pocket and placed it into the lock before she smiled over her shoulder at her partner. "Can you imagine if we had to deal with crushing on our partner too? That would make for such a weird team dynamic." Blake chuckled to herself as she turned the key to unlock her door, shaking her head at the absurdity of the proposed situation. "I'm glad we don't have to go through that too."

Yang flashed a bright smile and chuckled at Blake's smirk. "Yeah… That would suck, alright."

However, once the Faunus girl had turned back around to enter into their room, the brawler's smile slipped until it became a shadow of what it once was. With a soft sigh, Yang closed their hotel room door behind them, the soft click of the lock sliding into place echoed down the deserted hallway. For the first time that night, all was quiet once more.


	7. Promises to Keep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I had every intention on posting this a week ago (it was all written and in the final editing phase too) but then life happened. I ended up driving on the road for about a week straight, between a funeral of a family member out in Kansas, and then directly to a wedding in Pittsburgh, before driving back to Ohio. I'm so happy to be off the road and no longer dodging tornadoes, but I seem to have developed some prolonged motion sickness from my travels so staring at a screen for too long has made me feel sick, hence why I am only posting this now. I hope the wait has been worth it. Thank you so much to those who commented on the last chapter! I always love hearing from my readers. As always, please feel free to leave a comment on here or come yell at me at blacklabyrinth07 on tumblr. I always love hearing from my readers. Special thanks to my Beta, mysteriesofthislife, who took the time during their vacation to help me edit this fic. Anyway, please let me know what you think! Enjoy!

Yang hummed in happiness as she dug into a platter of eggs, bacon, and toast with a smattering of jam. She was pleased to find that the owner of the hotel had a complimentary breakfast for patrons, which the brawler was all too happy to partake in. Ruby sat across from her eating something that resembled chocolate chip pancakes while downing a cold glass of milk. Blake and Weiss were not in sight as they had wandered into the First District to see if they could find a café that served gourmet coffee and tea so early in the morning.

Ruby groaned loudly as she paused mid-bite to rub at her lower back, the noise being loud enough to make Yang set down her mug of coffee to stare at her younger sister.

"Are you alright, Sis?" Yang asked as she shifted in her seat to give the scythe wielder a once-over with keen lilac eyes.

"I had a rough night and now my back hurts so much." Ruby's groans grew as she twisted in her seat to crack her spine, making her older sister cringe at the organic sound.

Yang took a sip of her coffee, hiding her smirk behind her mug as she carefully chose her next words. "Something wrong with your sleeping arrangements with the Ice Queen?"

"Yang… Don't call her that." Ruby whined at her sister's teasing. "Weiss was freaking out because our room only had one bed, so I slept on the floor last night."

Yang coughed loudly, having inhaled some of her eggs. "She made you sleep on the floor?!"

"I… volunteered, actually." Ruby avoided her sister's stare as a deep blush flooded the scythe user's cheeks.

"Whipped…" Yang whispered, keeping her voice lowered as she watched Ruby dig into her pancakes at a rate that would have made Nora jealous.

After eating her fill, Yang wiped her mouth clean with a napkin and cleared her throat to catch her sister's attention. "Okay Ruby. What's the plan for today?"

The young leader held up her pointer finger for a moment as she finished her milk and licked her dairy mustache clean. "Well now that everyone is rested and healed up, we need to get ready to leave this world and search for JNPR and our families. Weiss and I are going to the First District to get supplies from Cid's accessory shop and then we'll go around and see if anyone has seen people from Remnant."

Yang nodded, tapping her fingers on her thigh in thought. "And how do you plan to do that?"

Ruby smiled and held out her scroll. "With these… Weiss and I figured we could start with photos of friends and family and go from there. Can you use these pictures? Weiss asked for me to give them to you."

"That's a good start." Yang grabbed her scroll and swiped through the images that were glowing on the screen. The first few pictures were of the teams that they were close with, from the different academies. Swiping to the right through the photo album, Yang saw that this included Teams JNPR and CVFY from Beacon, and even Team SSSN from Haven. The next picture was one that Yang also had saved on her phone. It was an older photo when Ruby had been accepted into Signal, the red-tipped brunette smiling widely while hugging her mentor and Uncle, Qrow Branwen. To the right of the unshaven man stood a smirking Taiyang with his arm around a younger Yang who was flashing a peace sign at the camera.

Yang swiped right to reveal the final picture, surprise flashing across her face as she saw a image of Weiss standing next to Winter in their Huntress and military uniforms, respectfully. The photo must have been taken right before Weiss had left for Beacon as the scar over her left eye was still a fresh wound. Weiss was positively beaming at the camera, her joy evident in the photo as she was pressed into the side of Winter. The older Schnee sister had a small, but genuine smile that graced her lips as a gloved hand rested on her sister's shoulder. A heavyset balding man with brown hair and mustache stood off to the side of the two women in an embroidered navy blue butler's uniform. His piercing yellow eyes were evident in the photo as the older gentleman was smiling at girls with pride. Yang wondered who had taken the picture that had depicted such a rare scene between sisters.

Reaching in a pocket for her own scroll, Yang gently tapped her device on top of Ruby's. A quiet beep emitted from the scrolls signifying that the pictures had been successfully transferred onto Yang's scroll. It seemed like the touch-based compatibility transference function was still operational even without the CCT Towers within range.

Yang placed her scroll back into her pocket for safe keeping and jabbed a thumb at her chest as she spoke. "Blake and I will check out District Two and do the same thing. Besides, I was talking to Penny earlier about the town and she told me about a place I want to take Blake, so we'll go there first."

Ruby nodded. "Okay, but be careful. Leon and Yuffie cleared out that district this morning, but there is always a chance Heartless can appear."

"We'll be careful." Yang stated as she ran her fingers through her hair to help comb it out more. "Besides, how can they do that? I saw their weapons last night and Leon and Yuffie don't have Keyblades."

Ruby shrugged as she pushed out of her chair and flipped her cloak so that it settled over her shoulders better. "I'm not sure. I guess that's just something we'll need to ask them later."

Yang grunted as she placed a hand on her chin in thought. "I have a feeling that this world has a lot of secrets."

Ruby hummed in response. "Not to mention the people here too. Keep an eye open, okay Sis?"

"Will do, Ruby." Yang grinned and stretched her arms high above her head. "Let's go find our partners and then we'll hit the town. When we're done, let's meet up back at the safe house and see if everyone's ready to go."

"Sounds good, Yang." Ruby wrapped her older sister in a one armed hug as they made their way out of the hotel and into the sunlight streets below.

[-][-][-]

"So where are we going?" Blake asked as she followed her cheery partner along the upper ring of the plaza in the Second District. The raven-haired girl looked around in wonder as shop signs flashed bright neon even in the early morning light. The glaring lights gave the city a buzzing energy as if it was always busy, even with only a few stragglers walking around in packs to avoid surprise attacks from the creatures of darkness.

Yang gave her partner a brilliant smile as she leisurely walked to their destination. "Patience Blake, it's a surprise."

Blake frown slightly, her bow twitching at Yang's calm demeanor. "But we really should start asking around town about our friends and family."

Yang laughed as she waved off Blake's concern. "And we will, but first there's a place I want to check out. Penny recommended it to me last night and I figured it would be a good place to start our search as any. After all, Penny told me she is quite the talker, which is rich coming from her."

"She? Who are you talking about?" Blake widened her eyes in surprise, picking up the pace to get in step with Yang who had suddenly walked with more purpose and speed towards a lone shop that was tucked away in the alleyway, between a shoe repair shop and a hat store. A painted wooden sign that hung over the entrance of the store read: _'Down the Rabbit Hole'_.

Yang flashed her partner a grin. "You'll see. Just a little further."

Within a few steps along the cobbled sidewalk they arrived in front of the small shop. Compared to its neighbors, the storefront display was rather modest with a map of the districts of Traverse Town along with world maps of places they had never seen before. Resting on the window shelves were piles of books of all sizes and languages stacked together in an inviting manner. A brass looking glass and a small pocket watch that was spinning counter-clockwise were sitting to the right of the nearest book stack. The warm low lighting of the store glinted off a small lopsided set of gold-plated scales on top of a pile of old tomes. Blake could feel herself practically vibrate in excitement as she realized where Yang had taken her.

"After you, milady." Yang gave her partner an exaggerated bow causing the dark-haired Faunus to roll her eyes while shooting her partner a small smile. The ringing of small silver bells overhead announced their arrival as the small wooden door closed behind them, shutting them inside the cozy building. The room was filled with rows upon rows of books placed on rickety bookshelves. Stacks of books, maps, and loose parchment lay precariously around the room on low tabletops. There was a small sofa that was placed under the window storefront with a single lamp lit off to the side to provide reading light.

To the right of the entrance was a large oak desk where a short blonde woman stood to greet them. The woman was in her mid-twenties with slightly large front teeth that flashed with her inviting smile. She wore a black t-shirt and dark washed jeans tucked into black combat boots as she stood watching the pair enter the shop. A green wind breaker jacket rested on her shoulders along with a red and black checkered flannel shirt that was tied around her waist. Blue eyes twinkled as she observed the darker-haired girl take a deep breath once entering the bookstore, simply taking in the comforting smells of old books and dried ink.

"Welcome to _'Down the Rabbit Hole: Bookstore and Trading Post of Whimsical Trinkets and Stranger Things'_ ," The girl paused in her speech, her accent thick as she flung her slender arms wide in an open gesture to her shop. "My name is Alice Jones, but I also go by Tilly. How may I help you this _fine_ morning?"

Blake smiled as she watched the owner of the shop trade pleasantries as Yang introduced herself and Blake on her behalf, the Faunus too interested in her surroundings to remember her manners.

"What is this place?"

"It's a bookstore, silly. Although now it acts more like a library." Alice flashed the pair a bright smile as Blake reached out to pick up a book that wasn't written in any language she was familiar with.

Yang smiled as she gestured around at the humble bookstore. "I brought you here Blake, because this is one of the only places in existence that houses books from all across the different worlds."

Blake perked up having caught her attention, her bow standing on end in excitement. "Is that true? You must have quite the collection."

Alice nodded. "That's right. I have a lovely selection of works from every realm you can think of and more. Travelers come and go as they please in my shop. You can take anything you want here with you on your travels; I only ask that you swap out a one book for another so that everyone has a chance to read something new."

"You mean a book exchange?" Blake asked as she moved away from a pile of books by the window to join her partner back at the oak desk counter.

"Right you are, lass." Alice smirked. "Got anything to add to my collection? Of course you can ask for your book back at any time."

Yang raised an eyebrow at her partner, knowing full well that Blake always had one novel or another stuffed on the inside pocket of her black vest. "Well, Blakey, what do you say? You don't have to trade anything here, but I doubt you'll get another opportunity like this again."

Blake glanced away from a stack of unrecognizable maps on the corner of the desk to lock eyes with the blonde book keeper. "I can ask for it back at anytime, right?"

Alice sincerely smiled as she slowly nodded her head. "You have my word, as a daughter of a pirate – you will get your book back."

"Does a pirate's word really mean anything here?" Yang asked as she cocked an eyebrow at the young woman's words.

Alice shrugged, having not stopped smiling. "It does on my world." Blue eyes locked with burning amber as Alice held out her hand expectantly. "What do you say, want to make a deal?"

Blake blinked before slowly reaching into her vest to reveal a battered copy of _'Ninjas of Love, Vol. 1'_ and gently placed the worn novel into the woman's waiting hand. "Take care of it for me?"

"I will…" Alice smiled as she looked at the new book with a reverence that only a true book lover could muster. "Now as promised, feel free to pick out one book from any of the shelves. Let me know if you need a recommendation."

"What do you have in mind?" Blake asked as she skimmed the shelves at her leisure, occasionally picking up a paperback and turning it over to read the summaries on the back cover before replacing it on the shelf.

"What's your cup of tea, Blake? Romance, folktales, magic, mysteries, fiction?" Alice asked as she moved out from behind her desk to follow the Faunus in her search for the perfect novel.

"How about a little of everything?" Blake asked as she turned to smile at the exuberant store owner.

Alice clapped her hands together while letting out a squeal of glee. "I have just the one!"

Walking with a spring in her step as she disappeared around a row of bookshelves, only to appear moments later with a small book bound with a red spine and purple hard covers. The novel looked well loved, the spine creased from years of use and a quick flipping through the pages showed the corners marked with crease lines from past readers dog-earring their place.

"Here is the first one. I was told there are seven in the series, although because I rely on what is brought to me, I only have the first, third, and sixth books in the series. Although I found that the first one works rather well as a standalone novel."

Yang glanced over Blake's shoulder to read the title that was oriented in flaking silver lettering on the spine.

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling." Yang read out loud as she turned the book to glance at the back cover, finding it blank. Unable to read its secrets, she shrugged. "I've never heard of it."

"I'd be surprised if you had… I discovered this series on my second world. I never got the chance to read the whole series, but the first one has always been a favorite of mine. Reading it has always been like coming home." Alice ran her fingers over the two-toned colored cover in unbridled adoration, before she handed the novel over to Blake with a grin. "It seems only fair that I trade you a little piece of my home for yours."

Blake's face morphed into a sincere smile, feeling her throat tighten as unshed tears threatened to make themselves known. "Thank you, Alice."

The book keeper smiled brightly, her blue eyes twinkling in the over head light as she noticed the emotions flickering across the dark-haired girl's face. "So… Are you travelers yourselves? You didn't seem particularly shocked by premise of this store."

Blake looked around at the different maps that were pinned to the walls of the shop, before turning to face the intrigued woman. "I guess you can say we're new to this whole world jumping thing. But we have some friends who offered to help us in our travels."

Alice tilted her head in thought. "Let me guess, those kids with the funny looking keys?"

Yang widened her eyes in shock. "How did you know?"

Alice chuckled at the brawler's surprise. "They've been coming to my store for a while now. Those kids have been one of my biggest suppliers of new books. But I'm not surprised since I know that the samurai is one of the few people here that can travel across realms without a gummi ship. Not that those are the only ways to travel between realms, but his powers do help."

Yang and Blake both looked at each other in confusion at the mention of a samurai in Team HART, before they shrugged and let that new information go. The Huntresses assumed Alice was talking about Ryu, as the older boy most matched the look of such a warrior, but they could always ask him about it later.

Yang turned so that she faced the book keeper once more. "You said that there are more ways to jump between realms, or worlds in this case. What did you mean by that?"

Alice chuckled. "I arrived here by rabbit hole. Although I quickly discovered that there aren't many rabbits to chase here."

Blake tilted her head in uncertainty. "Rabbit hole?"

"On my first world, chasing a white rabbit down its hole would often lead you to a portal that would open and lead to other realms." Alice chuckled. "You couldn't control where you would end up, but it always made for a wild adventure."

Yang snapped her fingers in thought, catching the attention of the book lovers. "Wait a minute… I think I read a children's book about something like that before."

Alice scoffed at the brawler's words, picking at a rainbow-colored string bracelet that adorned her wrist. "I assure you it's all bloody wrong."

Before Yang could make a retort to defend her beloved childhood story, Blake cut her off with a question address to Alice. "If you're having trouble finding rabbits here, then couldn't you ask for a ride from Cid to go back to your world? I heard he had a ship of some sort that could make the trip. Or I am sure Ryu could help you if you asked him nicely."

Alice face fell into a frown. "That's a fine plan, but only if you have somewhere to go. You see, I don't have a home to go back to. I arrived here by accident and it was only when I tried to return that I learned the fate of my homes – both worlds I lived in are now gone."

There was a pause as Alice's words hung in the air. Yang shifted her weight onto her other foot as she locked eyes with the book store owner. "Heartless?"

Alice sadly nodded. "Yes, unfortunately. There was no warning for them, so they had no time to evacuate. One minute everything was fine, and the next they were gone. Once you've been here long enough you'll find that everyone in Traverse Town is either lost or separated from their homes and the people they love."

Alice sighed deeply, propping her head up with an elbow on the desk as she leaned on the wooden surface, suddenly looking tired and older beyond her years. "I ask you, what is the greater curse? Not knowing who you or your lover's identities are, but still being able to be with each other? Or to remember your past and their identity, but to be ripped apart once more? This is one curse too many..."

Blake caught her partner's eye, both girls unsure how to address such a question. After a few tense moments of reflection, Yang broke the strained silence.

"Where are you from?"

Alice looked up from the rainbow bracelet to grin up at the Beacon students. "Seattle, Washington..." Receiving only blank looks, Alice carried on. "…Nothing?"

Blake shook her head as her partner shrugged.

Alice titled her head, resting her elbows on the desk as she leaned forward in her interrogation. "How about the Enchanted Forest...? Yeah, I didn't think so. Popycock! Fat chance the lot of you knowing about those places, looking the way you do."

Blake felt her body stiffen as she glanced away from the eccentric booklover. "What do you mean by that?"

Alice rolled her eyes as if the answer was so obvious it didn't need saying. "The cat ears!"

Blake felt Yang move so that her body was blocking Alice's line of sight to her partner. The Faunus almost jumped in surprise as she felt Yang reach back and lace her fingers with Blake's own in reassurance. Blake refused to make eye contact with Alice as she crossed her arms over her midriff. "I… I don't know what you're talking about."

Alice snorted at Blake's affronted face. "Honestly… And I thought I was mad." The book keeper arched an eyebrow at the girl's nervous behavior before pointing at the top of her own head. "Sweetheart, your ribbon moves. Have to be ears under there, so I recon you aren't from around here. Or at least where I come from."

"You're taking this _surprisingly_ well…" Blake trailed off as she watched Alice let out a peel of laughter.

"Believe me when I say that you are not even remotely close to the weirdest looking people that I have met in my travels." Alice winked as she watched Blake finally let herself smile at their situation. Alice's laughter died down until she tilted her head at her customers. "You aren't staying here in Traverse Town, are you?"

Yang crossed her arms over her chest as she shook her head. "No, we need to go find our friends and save our home. And we have the power and tools to be able to do it. Nothing can stop us if we put our minds and heart into this."

Alice smiled brightly. "Spoken like a true adventurer. While you're out there, can you do me a favor? I'm looking for someone." She reached into a pocket of her green wind breaker to remove a small device that looked similar to their scrolls. On the lock screen of the glowing device was a picture of two girls. On closer inspection they recognized one of the girls as Alice who was kissing the cheek of a taller girl with light brown hair tied in a loose braid, with large round wire-rimmed glasses framing kind green eyes. The other girl was smiling widely at the camera, an arm draped around Alice's waist and a long bow clutched loosely in her other hand.

"She goes by Robin or Margot Mills. There are not a lot of rabbits on this world that I can use to realm jump. So if you find her, please bring her back to me." Alice sighed wistfully as she glanced at the photo of the two of them one more time before shoving the scroll-like device back into her jacket.

Yang reached out to lightly squeeze Alice shoulder before pulling away with a reassuring smile. "We'll keep a look out for her… Speaking of missing people, does anyone from these pictures look familiar?" Yang pulled out her scroll from her pocket and handed the device over to Alice to swipe through the photos of their loved ones.

Following Yang's lead, Blake reached for her scroll from a hidden pocket inside her vest and pulled up a saved photo hidden deep within her files. "Or anyone from this?"

Having not seen the picture on Blake's scroll before, Yang glanced at the picture to notice what looked like a family portrait was glowing on screen. Dressed in deep purple, black, and white three Faunus stood proudly, each member smiling at the camera. A tall dark-haired man with broad shoulders and light yellow eyes stood next to a much smaller woman with large pointed ears and slanted golden amber eyes. Between the adults and barely reaching up to their elbows stood a small Faunus girl, feline ears on display with a cheeky grin plastered on her face.

 _'Is that Blake's family? She's never mentioned them before. I didn't even know they were still alive…'_ Yang frowned briefly as she looked away from Blake's scroll, the brawler feeling like she had accidentally invaded on a private moment for her partner.

Alice took her time as she analyzed every person's features shown on all the photos. But after several tense minutes the blonde booklover slowly shook her head and sighed. "I'm sorry, but I don't know anyone from those photos. But if I do, I'll let you know."

"Thank you, Alice." Blake answered, her bow twitching in her sincerity.

"No, thank you and enjoy your book!" Alice waved to the two girls as Blake tucked her new novel into her jacket and exited the cozy bookstore with the tell-tale sound of silver bells wishing them farewell.

The black and yellow duo spent the rest of their morning traveling around to the different shops and apartments located within the district, asking townies and travelers alike for any information on their missing friends. Unfortunately for the Huntresses in training, they had no success in their numerous inquiries and thus they leisurely made their trek back to the safe house.

Blake sighed as she was turned down by yet another patron wandering the shopping district. "It's just so sad... seeing everyone separated from their loved ones. I mean, we can't help everyone." Blake gestured to the people who mingled at the edges of the higher section of the plaza.

Yang shook her head slowly, her golden mane shining in the sunlight. "No we can't. But that doesn't mean we can't try…" The brawler brought down a fist into her open palm in a gesture of passion.

Blake hummed at her partner's enthusiastic response, the Faunus lost in her own thoughts as they strolled down the cobbled street.

Yang cleared her throat to gain back her companion's attention, the brawler fidgeting as she walked showing her apprehension. Yang sighed at the sideways look shot by her partner, knowing that if she didn't speak soon, Blake would force out whatever was bothering her in time. "Blake… Who were the people in your picture?"

Blake paused in her gait, forcing the blonde to stumble at her partner's abrupt stop. The dark-haired Faunus looked down at her feet, her voice quiet and almost lost amongst the sounds of the town when she finally responded in hushed tones. "…They are my parents."

Yang stared at her with wide eyes, her eyebrows disappearing into her bangs at her surprise. "Your parents are alive?!"

Blake nodded, still refusing to look her partner in the eyes. "Yes, although I haven't seen them in years. We haven't spoken since I stayed with Adam in the White Fang. And now…" Blake paused to look up into the cloudless sky, her eyes becoming misty as anguish laced her voice. "I'd give anything to see them again, just say how sorry I am. For everything."

Yang reached out to envelope her partner in a one-armed hug, the Faunus sniffling slightly into the other girl's brown jacket. "You'll see them again, I promise. And when we save Remnant, the first thing we'll do is find them so that you can be reunited with your family."

Blake looked up from where she had buried her face into her partner's neck, amber eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Will you come with me? I'd rather not see them alone."

Yang gave Blake a tender smile that she only reserved for the dark-haired beauty. "Of course I will. I'm your partner."

Deep amber eyes met soft lilac as each girl stood motionless in the middle of the sidewalk, simply taking in the comfort of each other's presence.

After a few seconds of intense staring, Yang glanced away and stretched her arms behind her head as she started walking again. "Besides, I'm sure if you ask Ruby and Weiss they would be happy to come too. I never thought I'd get the chance to meet your parents."

Blake matched the blonde's steady gait before nodding. "I'm sure they'll love you. And thank you, Yang."

"Of course, Blake. Anything for you…" Yang murmured as they continued on their walk.

They continued on their search, Yang whistling a tune Blake thought she recognized as a song Weiss had once sung in the shower when she thought their dorm room was empty. They slowed their walk to a crawl as they passed a store that sold weapons and tools, knowing full well that they would be useless against the threat of Heartless.

Yang's eyes lingered on a long sword, the polished blade gleaming in the neon lights of the storefront. She glanced over at her partner who seemed lost in thought as the more introverted Huntress admired a small dagger in the window's display. "So… Are you going to name your Keyblade?"

Blake tore her attention away from the display to shrug her shoulders. "Well every good weapon needs a name, right?"

"Yeah…" Yang hummed in agreement before closing her eyes and concentrating on her outstretched palm, just as she had seen her sister do the night before to summon her Keyblade. Yang felt her skin tingle as she focused her Aura into her right hand and smiled widely when a few seconds later her own Keyblade appeared in a small flash of light. "I think I'll call her Burning Heart."

Blake tilted her head as she examined the golden weapon that gleamed in her partner's grip. "Isn't that a bit too on the nose?" She pointed to the yellow metal keychain that hung from the blade, the burning heart symbol that belonged to the brawler dangled from a silver chain.

Yang shrugged as she awkwardly swung her Keyblade in the air before watching the weapon unintentionally disappear from her grasp. "Well what about you? What are you going with?"

Blake held out her hand as she summoned her own Keyblade, her eye twitching in annoyance as she noticed that it took her a few more seconds than her partner to make the black Keyblade appear. Holding the Keyblade in her right hand, she reached out with her left to thumb the stylized black metal flower that hung from a delicate silver chain. "Did you know that Belladonna is a plant found in Menagerie?"

Yang lifted a hand to stroke her chin in thought. "I think I remember reading that in Professor Peach's class… Why do ask?"

Blake stared at the metal symbol, her fingers tracing the curved edges of the black trinket. "There's a reason my family name and crest is based off the flower. The plant is as deadly as it is beautiful; the black berries that draw the eye to the alluring plant are so toxic that it can kill a small child if they eat too much of it. Because of this, the Belladonna plant is also known as on the island as 'Deadly Nightshade'."

The Faunus paused in her gentle movements to hold her blade up to the sky, watching the neon lights and sunlight reflect off the pitch black metal of the Keyblade. The polished violet cross guard and white leather grip stood out drastically from the dark motif of the blade. "Beautiful and deadly – is that not how a Huntress views their weapon?"

Yang whistled appreciatively as the Faunus spun her blade so that it flashed in the light before disappearing in a whirl of blackened steel. "So… Nightshade?" Yang glanced over the dark-haired beauty, giving her partner a once-over look of admiration. "Seems appropriate. I like it."

Blake shot her partner a small grin. "I'm glad you approve."

After finishing their rounds at the last few shops in the Second District with limited success, the yellow and black duo made their way back to the safe house.

About a few shops away from their destination, Blake turned to face her partner. "Yang?"

"Yes, Blakey?" Yang replied, eyeing the way her partner's bow twitched on her head.

"Thank you for taking me to the bookstore." Blake shot her partner a warm smile, a rare sight only to be seen by the overly affectionate partner. Blake felt her breath catch in her throat as the brawler reached out and laced her fingers with her partner, giving her hand a light squeeze.

"You're welcome." Yang spoke softly as together they made their way back to the safe house, Blake's hand clutched tightly in her own.

Blake smiled to herself, basking in the warm glow that always seemed to emit from her partner. Blake closed her eyes as she felt herself squeeze Yang's hand in response, the Faunus flooding with a sense of calm reassurance at the physical reminder that whatever the future held, they would face it together.

[-][-][-]

"Almost there… And, yes! I've got it." Penny smiled with glee as she continued to type her way at the keyboard that lay before a massive monitor. Team RWBY stood off to the side in the room as they watched their friend work her magic as the ginger typed away frantically at the glowing screen.

"What are we looking at, kid?" Cid asked, his eyes squinting at a blinking red light that flashed on the monitor. The image itself was a three-dimensional green and black grid that reminded Ruby of a sonar image with multiple orbs in various positions that floated in place on the mapped out area. One particular glowing sphere had a red beacon that pulsated from its surface. Since Penny had long ago zoomed up on that particular image on the grid, Ruby assumed that the flashing orb indicated a different world then Traverse Town. Ruby couldn't help but laugh at the fact that their current position on screen was marked by a cartoonish image of Penny's smiling face that was located a little to the left of the glowing red orb.

"According to our calculations, there is a massive spike of Heartless activity on one of the nearby worlds." Penny typed away at the computer, her fingers becoming a blur as she moved them so quickly over the keyboard that only the constant chatter of the clicking keys informed the others that Penny had not simply become one with the computer.

"Let me see if I can get any specific reading about the world before we send you off." Penny explained as she rapidly typed and clicked on various lines of information and code that flashed on screen. "Looks like the life forms are humanoid, the locals seem to be non-hostile, but with a love for fighting for sport. Let me see if I can zoom up on the main location where the Heartless are spawning…"

Cid hunched over his android companion to squint at the screen. "Wait a minute… HART does this place look familiar to you?"

The experienced engineer twisted his body to face the small group of Keyblade users who had been following their progression next to the Beacon students. Haruka stepped forward until she was inches away from the main monitor that took up almost most of the wall.

"That's the coliseum…" Haruka pointed to an image on the screen of an older building built from white marble with large stone pillars, and two imposing statues in bronze that guarded the entrance. "We've been there before. But you said they're having issues with Heartless?"

"I don't understand… We sealed away the Keyhole last time we were there." Titus shook his head in confusion.

Ryu spoke, his thickly accented voice gruff. "Titus is right. There should not be any issues with Heartless without a catalyst."

Penny nodded. "According to my algorithm there is a dramatic growth in Heartless sightings and it is only increasing. As to the cause… It could be anything. This place isn't exactly the most peaceful of words and it seems to attract a lot of fighters." Penny pointed to the monitor while cocking her head as she read the program that flashed on screen.

"We've been asking around town, and several people mentioned rumors that have sprung up across the worlds of a red-headed champion in the games. Could that be one of your friends?" Yuffie asked as she gestured to the group of Huntresses.

Yang looked at her friends before nodding. "It could be Pyrrha or Nora. Either way, it's worth checking out."

"Keep in mind that they are not the only ginger-haired fighters across the worlds." Ryu spoke, his tone soft, but firm as he regarded the room with his words. "These rumors may not be referring to your friends."

"Very true, Ryu. But any lead at this point is worth checking out. Besides, if they are having an issue with Heartless then we need to check the Keyhole." Haruka spoke, her eyes not leaving the glowing screen. Nodding to herself, she turned to face the other leader in the room. "If it is alright with your team, then this world should be our first destination."

"Sounds like a plan." Ruby agreed as she nodded her head at her teammates.

The older leader clapped her hands in finality. "Well then, shall we retire to the living room for our final preparations? It's a bit cramped in here." Haruka gestured around the small room that housed Cid's supercomputer. While the room served well as a communications center for the world jumpers, it wasn't built for standing room for more than three people max.

Together Cid, Penny, Leon, and Yuffie, as well as members from both teams made their way through the hallway of the safe house until they entered the larger entrance room where they were greeted by a friendly face.

"Aloy! It's good to see you up and about!" Titus exclaimed as he ran forward to tackle the taller girl in a bone crushing hug.

"Whoa, careful there Munchkin." Aloy chuckled as she ruffled his hair before he ducked away from her palm and swiped at her offending hand.

Aloy was wearing her crisp white pants tucked into tall black buckled boots. Instead of her more elaborate outfit, she wore only a simple sleeveless navy blue tunic over a white undershirt. Thick bandages could be seen wrapped up both arms and down onto her torso, but otherwise the older woman looked to be in better health.

"Sod off, Aloy! Let me go!" As Titus shouted his voice slipped into an accent that Blake realized also belonged to Alice, although the bookkeeper's accent was definitely more pronounced then the younger Keyblade user.

Weiss smiled having never seen the duel Keyblade wielder so relaxed as the silver-haired girl play-fought with the younger boy, before they broke away after receiving disapproving looks from their teammates.

"I wanted to see you off…" Aloy turned to face her teammates with a large grin, her clothing a bit disheveled from her roughhousing with Titus. She turned to face Ryu who had been watching everything off to the side with a gleam of mirth in his eyes. "…And to ask you a favor."

"What can I do for you, my friend?" Ryu's voice rumbled in his slower articulate accent as he spoke.

"While I am unfit to travel with you, I do wish to help in any way that I can – that includes speaking to the King."

Ryu cocked his head as he thought over her words. "And you need my gateway to do it? Why not borrow Cid's gummi ship?"

"I would, but that would take too much time, something we don't have the luxury of sparing. Your gateways are the fastest way for me to get the answers we need."

"Which are?" Yang asked, cocking a hip as she as gestured to the rest of the room in question.

"We need to know what happened to the doors leading to Kingdom Hearts." Haruka answered for her partner. "Aloy's ability allows her access to the doors, but last time they were seen they were sealed away by the King himself. If the doors have been tampered with, or if someone was planning on opening Kingdom Hearts, the King would know what to do."

"Who is this… King?" Weiss asked, attempting to follow along in the leader's explanation. Her thoughts traveled to a memory of a flash of gold that had adorned Aloy's combat gear, the tri-rounded circlet that had first caught her attention at the start of their match.

"King Mickey, ruler of Magic Kingdom." Aloy answered as she reached across her chest with her left hand, only to fall to her side once her fingers failed to feel her cross-body belt of keychains that normally was worn by the blue-steel eyed warrior.

"He's a mouse… But don't tell him that. It's rude." Titus chuckled as he lowered his voice as if the boy was sharing some deep secret.

"Right…" Blake felt her feline ears twitch as she drawled out the last syllable. While her team had taken her Faunus heritage well, she was unsure how this new group of people would take to her cat-like appendages.

Blake narrowed her eyes as she observed the young boy dressed in green and brown leather armor before her. Then again, perhaps her fears were unfounded since they had traveled to other worlds and have claimed to have seen rather unusual people – Dust, even Titus' ears appeared to be slightly too pointed to be entirely human. Blake shifted her weight to her other foot as she considered the implication that while the Keyblade wielders had certainly helped them in the past, they were still strangers to the students of Beacon. The Faunus' train of thought was interrupted by the intrusion of Aloy's voice.

"What we need is information and I happen to be in the perfect position to make this trip." She gestured to her injured body. "Until I am well enough to help you, I can travel separately for the more mundane tasks that need to be done. That and I can help keep an eye out for unusual Heartless activity across the different worlds."

"And how do you plan on doing that while you're here?" Yang asked as she gestured to the safe house's walls.

Aloy smirked. "Simply, by doing this!"

The young woman held out her right hand where Yearning Heart appeared in her grasp in a burst of light. The curved hooked blade flashed in the room's light as she spun the Keyblade so that the tip of the blade rested on hard wood floors. Gingerly getting on one knee, Aloy bowed her head as she flicked her wrist, the Damascus steel Keyblade turning at a forty-five degree angle. Suddenly the air within the room stirred until Aloy's short black-rooted silver hair whipped around in the created wind as she was cast in a rainbow of light. A kaleidoscope of colors emitted from the base of the Keyblade, the colored lights forming a revolving circular mosaic of stained glass.

A burst of dark mist erupted at the point where Yearning Heart touched the floor, the darkness growing in size and solidifying into a singular Heartless. The small Shadow's yellow beady eyes were its only distinguishing feature on its face as the Heartless stood in a low crouch, the small tendrils on its head swayed with its movement as its eyes locked onto it's summoner.

The Beacon students held their breath, knowing what would happen to the Keyblade user once a Heartless was summoned. But to their surprise the Heartless bounded up to the tall girl and instead of slicing her hand, it grabbed onto her leg and nuzzled its dark face into the side of her leg.

"Hello little one, did you miss me?" Aloy chuckled to herself at the Heartless' eager behavior as the Shadow tackled her until she was knocked off balance and fell to the floor. The Heartless jumped excitedly around Aloy's legs, as the Keyblade user sat up to rub at the Shadow's ear tendrils in an affectionate manner. The silver-haired woman lowered her voice as she whispered to the creature of darkness murmured words of care.

"Are Heartless normally this… cuddly?" Weiss asked as she watched the strange sight before her. The Shadow's behavior reminded her of the excitement of a puppy greeting its owner.

"No. And neither are most of Aloy's summons." Haruka explained as she watched her partner interact with the exuberant Shadow that was now running circles around the seated woman. "While Aloy's Heartless are more tamed then the ones we fight, this one has always been the exception to the rule. He is the only one that refuses to harm her." Haruka nodded at the scene before her as the Shadow had jumped up so that its sharp fingers clung to Aloy's tunic, allowing the woman to push herself into a standing position.

Ruby failed to stifle a giggle as the older woman looked rather ridiculous with the small Heartless clinging to her front, the creature vibrating in excitement as Aloy adjusted her grip to hold the Shadow and used her other hand to pet its quivering ear tendrils.

Aloy laughed at the Heartless' excitement. "His name is Diaval. He'll be my eyes and ears across the worlds and will report back to me." The silver-haired woman placed the Shadow on the ground and knelt down so that her head was level with its own. "You know what to do."

The Heartless' ears twitched as it leaned forward to touch foreheads with the summoner, before the Shadow jumped into a spin and disappeared in a burst of black mist.

"So… You can talk with that thing?" Yang asked as she looked skeptically at the spot where the Heartless had disappeared from.

"I wouldn't say that I can 'talk' to Diaval, exactly. But I have been able to establish some form of communication that I've always been able to figure out what he means – It's hard to explain."

Weiss shrugged, turning to the taller blonde. "I actually have a similar bond with my own summons."

"I'm not surprised," Haruka interrupted. "From what I've gathered during my travels, summoners and wizards alike tend to form a special bond with their summons or familiars."

"Wait, wizards?" Weiss shifted her eyes over the people in the room, her teammates giving her looks of confusion. "But, there's no such thing as magic..?"

"Oh, magic exists all right…" Titus smiled as if he was thinking over an inside joke.

"While my young friend is right, now is not the time to go into depth about the mystical arts. We are on a time constraint, after all…" Aloy stood up and dusted off her crisp white pants before turning to face teammates. "Ryu, before you and the others head out, would you mind doing me a favor."

The dark-haired boy nodded. Slowly drawing Wayward Wind from the belts resting on his back, he quickly slashed the Keyblade through the empty space beside him. The graceful movement forced the air to ripple until a door appeared in the middle of the sitting room as if it had been there all along.

The gateway was a large set of mahogany double doors, each door inscribed with the mouse head insignia that the Beacon students now knew belonged to the King. The doors were framed with gold leaf trim that formed a matching red emblem that rested at the crest of the gateway. It was an impressive structure, one that spoke of the importance and supposed wealth of the King's castle it belonged to.

"As promised… Direct access to King Mickey himself at Disney Castle." Ryu spoke as he gestured to the materialized gateway.

Aloy smiled in her gratitude. "Thank you, Ryu. I'll go to speak with him as soon as you and the gang leave. I don't want to depart from the party too soon, after all." She flashed everyone her brilliant smile.

"So… Not to be the bad guy here, but we need to talk about your weaponry." Cid gestured to the Beacon students as they shifted their gazes to their precious weapons.

"What about them?" Blake asked, taking the time to draw Gambol Shroud from where it rested on her back.

"You won't be able to take them with you." Cid explained, gesturing to their weapons with an unlit cigarette that was held between his fingers.

"There's no way I'm leaving Ember Celica behind!" Yang shouted as she cocked the bracelets into their shotgun formation.

Cid sighed. "And what are you going to do if you end up in a world that hasn't invented shotguns, let alone gunpowder?"

Yang looked down at the brightly painted yellow gauntlets. Even in the low lighting of the main sitting room, the weapon's iconic paint seemed to glow to an almost neon brightness.

"Yeah, you might be able to hide those guns of yours, but I don't think your sister there will be able to conceal the giant scythe, let alone a sniper rifle if you find yourself in on a more primitive world." Cid continued as he waved a hand at Crescent Rose, which even in its compact form still drew the wandering eye with its distinctive coloring and metallic shine.

"Besides, it's not like you'll be left defenseless." Haruka explained. "Keyblades can still perform just as well as any melee weapon. For the sword users on your team, the switch to this weapon should be relatively easy."

Ryu nodded at his leader's words. "One of the mystical abilities of a Keyblade is that you do not need to physically have it attached to your person at all times. When you need it most, it will heed your call. And over time, you will be able to summon your weapon at will."

Titus shrugged at his partner's logic. "Besides, displaying your weapons at all times might work on Remnant… I mean, from what I gathered, it's kind of your thing as Huntsman and Huntresses. But to anyone else, having even just a rapier at your side can be seen as a huge threat." Titus pointed to the elegant blade that rested at Weiss' waist.

"Come on guys, I know it sucks but they have a point. We'll already stick out no matter where we end up, but if we can make it even a little bit easier on our team by trying to blend in I say we go for it." Weiss drew Myrtenaster so that the rapier gleamed in the low lighting, before she held out her blade, handle first, to the nearest person that wouldn't be traveling with her and her team.

With only a moment of hesitation, Aloy stepped forward to take the expertly crafted weapon, being careful to avoid touching the Dust chambers as she rested the blade between her bandaged hands.

"Keep an eye on that for me, please?" Weiss asked, as she lifted an eyebrow at the taller woman. "I expect it to be in pristine condition when I return."

Aloy cracked a smile at the Heiress, noticing how the girl's eyes seem to shimmer with the barest trace of unshed tears. "Don't worry, Schnee. I'll even give it a nice coat of polish once I get back from speaking to the King."

Weiss stiffly nodded before she stepped back to join her friends. With only a few words of encouragement from the Ice Queen, Blake and Yang gave their weapons to Leon and Yuffie, the latter promising to keep their gear in a weapons safe located deeper in the house.

Ruby detached Crescent Rose from her back, her vision blurring as she felt her tears fall silently down her cheeks. The former scythe user looked around the room trying to catch the eye of one of the more experienced world jumpers.

"Is there really nothing you can do?" Ruby hated how her voice cracked on the last syllable.

Ryu caught the eye of his young partner, the hazel eyed boy sighing deeply while he shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you with this."

Ruby's silver eyes shot up to meet Titus' own, her face flashing with confusion among deep sadness.

"Ruby, you asked us yesterday about our Semblances…" Titus ran a hand over his short shaggy blonde hair. "Well, Ryu has his gateways, and Aloy has her Dive ritual into the Awakening. But I… I have manipulation magic."

"WHAT?!" A chorus of shock rang out as each Huntress yelled in unison.

Titus held his hands out in front of his chest defensively. "Well, magic might not be the right word for it, but it's essentially the same in practice. I have the power to change the physical form of anything I touch and can bend it to my will."

Haruka waved a free hand to capture the attention of the shocked Huntresses in training. "What he means is that he can manipulate matter on a molecular level. Even a simple brush of his fingers can completely transform the laws of nature and physics to his will. To an untrained eye, it appears as if by magic."

Titus shrugged as he smiled. "I can basically create anything out of nothing."

Yang snapped her fingers in thought. "That's how you've been able to blend in while on different worlds, right?"

Titus' smile widened, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement. "Exactly! We tend to stick out, mostly because of our clothing choices, so I just change our appearances to match theirs. You need cotton robes or a full set of armor?! No problem." Titus shrugged as he picked at the sleeve of his green zippered jacket. "Non-living things are easier to manipulate, but I can change our anatomy, biology, and even our chemistry make-up to help us survive out there."

Blake's bow twitched as she took in all of this information. "So if you can change anything to your will, then can you make our weapons able to destroy Heartless?"

"Ah… yes. You see, that's where things can be difficult." Titus fidgeted on his feet. "While I can change things, the effects are only temporary. So… Yes. I can change your weapons to kill Heartless, but it wouldn't be permanent. Even if I could, I wouldn't do it for the four of you. There are some properties of the Keyblades that even I can't replicate."

Yuffie jumped from where she was leaning against a wall. "Titus helped Leon, Penny, and I so that we can use our weapons to clear out Heartless from the other districts. It sure helps a lot to keep their numbers controlled, but it doesn't even compare to what a Keyblade can do."

"So if you can change our weapons to defeat the Heartless, then why did you not help us when Beacon fell?" Ruby's eyes were trained on her feet as she spoke, failing to keep a hint of accusation out of her voice. She shot her eyes upward to glare at Titus, the silver eyes turning into steel as they glinted in the light with her anger. "Why did you leave us to fend for ourselves, knowing we couldn't hurt them?!"

Titus cleared his throat, waiting for the girl to calm down before he spoke. "I was helping… Not with your team, but with the other one that was helping us."

"JNPR?" Ruby asked, tilting her head as she thought back to the battle. Now that she looked back on it, she had lost track of the youngest Keyblade wielder as they jumped into the arena.

Titus nodded. "Yes, as soon as we separated from your teammates, I ran to the other fighters to change their weapons to affect the Heartless. You and your team were holding your own with Ryu, but your friends were on their own while Haruka looked for the Keyhole. I changed their weapons before running to help in her search. By the time I had made my way back to you, it was too late."

"Well it's good to know that JNPR can hold their own against any Heartless until we find them." Yang exclaimed as she grabbed the back of her neck.

"All the more reason to use my algorithm to search for Heartless activity." Penny pointed out. "Fighters from our world are sure to catch their attention and draw in their numbers."

The students from Beacon murmured their agreement. However, Ruby remained silent as she listened to everyone.

"We understand the sacrifice we ask of you, Ruby." Ryu spoke softly as he walked to stand directly in front of the silent Huntress, his hands outstretched to relieve the young leader of her burden. "A warrior never wants to be separated from their weapon. But to hold onto yours could cost you the safety of your friends if on the wrong world. And in some cases, we have no idea what awaits us on the other side of my gateways."

Amber slanted eyes met bright silver as the boy slowly grasped Crescent Rose, letting the weapon hover between the two fighters. "Place your trust in us, Ruby… We promise you will be united with your beloved weapon once more."

Taking a shaky deep breath, Ruby nodded. "Its name is Crescent Rose…"

Ryu allowed a hint of a smile to flash on his face. "A great name for a mighty weapon."

He rested a callused palm gently on top of the young warrior's hand. "I too had to leave my sword behind… It held the name of Honjo Masamune, and a part of my soul still lies with it wherever it may be. But I have never forgotten about my beloved weapon."

Ryu closed his eyes, lost in distant memory, before he looked at the young warrior with an unwavering gaze. "Your weapon will always be a part of you, Ruby. But for now, you need to trust us and let it go."

"Goodbye, old friend…" Ruby took a deep breath and let go of Crescent Rose, causing tears to fall as she released her precious weapon into the custody of the older boy. Penny walked over to join them so that she could take the red and black scythe from the Keyblade user, no doubt to place it into the weapons safe along with the others.

"Don't cry, Ruby. I'll take care of your weapon while you're away." Penny smiled as she held Crescent Rose in her arms with care.

Ruby glanced at her friend, a surprised smile flashed across her face. "Are you not coming with us, Penny?"

Penny shook her head. "I am needed here. You need a way to find the Heartless and communicate with everyone, services I can provide." Penny prodded at a section of her chest, the gesture opening a hidden compartment in her chest plate, exposing the colored wires and rows of microcontrollers that lay nestled inside. After a moment of searching and an exclamation of victory, Penny withdrew a small microchip barely the size of her smallest fingernail.

"Titus, can you give me a hand?" Penny asked as she held out the chip to the young boy, the small piece of metal and plastic emitted a soft green pulsating glow in her palm.

"Sure thing, Penny. Just as we discussed earlier?" Titus asked as he rested his palm over the glowing microchip.

Penny shot him a wide smile. "Yes please, I believe Cid and I were able to extend the range over to the next universe if needed."

After Titus removed his palm from the chip, Penny reached out for Ruby. "May I see your scroll?"

"Uh… Yeah, sure. But I think the battery's low." Ruby said as she removed her scroll from her pocket.

"Titus can provide a charge for you, just remember to ask him to do it repeatedly." Penny explained as she removed a small SIM card from the side and replaced it with her own glowing chip. "That should do it! Now it should be able to make or receive calls no matter what world you are on as I created a direct link to my hard drive."

"Thanks, Penny." Ruby glanced at her scroll, as Titus reached over her hand to tap the screen causing the battery reader to flash until it reached full capacity.

"Yup, defiantly magic." Yang muttered under breath to her partner as she watched Titus' powers in action. "The dude's a walking battery pack. Ouch!" She yelped as Blake elbowed her hard in her ribs.

Ruby locked eyes with her android friend. "Are you and the others safe here? What if the Heartless overrun the other districts and try to attack you? What if there are too many Heartless?"

Penny waved off her friend's worries with a cheery smile. "Don't worry Ruby, I am combat ready!" She snapped herself into attention, her hand coming up in a perfect military salute.

Penny relaxed her stance upon seeing her friend chuckle at her theatrics. "Besides, I want to help Team Fantasy to clear the other sections of Heartless. With their help and my talents, I am confident that we can hold our own."

Ruby cocked her head to the side, her nose scrunching in confusion. "Team Fantasy?"

Penny gestured around to the other occupants of the room. "Cid, Leon, and Yuffie! I couldn't mesh their names to give them a more traditional team name, so they helped me by supplying their own."

Ruby glanced at the other fighters in the room, taking in their appearance and weapons that seemed not all too unfamiliar to those styles found on Remnant. "It fits them well."

Penny smiled. "So it would seem."

Ruby fiddled with her fingers in thought, before surprising the android by launching herself into her friend's arms. "I just don't want to leave you alone."

Penny returned the hug before gently prying the girl away out to arm's reach, not yet letting go of her shoulders. "But I am not alone. I am with Team Fantasy. But more importantly, I am always with you, friend." She pointed to her chest before she reached out to point at the scroll that was still being held in the former scythe wielder's palm.

"Thanks again, Penny." Ruby used her free hand to wipe a stray tear away with her black sleeve.

"Any time, friend!" Penny exclaimed as she squeezed Ruby's shoulders once before she left go of her companion.

"I hate to interrupt, but we are on a strict schedule and I believe that covers all our bases." Haruka spoke up gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "Are we all ready to head out?"

"I got supplies covered!" Titus exclaimed as he clapped his leather gloved hands together.

Aloy rolled her eyes at her youngest teammate. "That's because you can turn a leaf into a tent if you wanted to."

"Again, that's why I call packing!" Titus shouted as he reached out to lightly punch the silver-haired woman on the arm, ignoring her slight wince of pain. "Well… everything except food and water, they never seem to take."

"All the power of creation at his fingertips and he can't even make a pizza." Aloy continued to explain as she caught the eyes of the students from Beacon, giving them a small wink.

Haruka shook her head and sighed. "Ryu and I will carry the rest. Ruby, are you and your teammates ready?"

Ruby was about to nod in the affirmative when she noticed the hesitant look that had crept across her partner's face. "Weiss, what is it?"

Weiss bit her lip before she turned to face her friend. "It's just, back at Beacon we usually had days to prepare for our missions. My team is my family. I just don't want anyone to get hurt because we were unprepared."

Ruby nodded in understanding, remembering how the Heiress had spent her free time in the days before their missions looking up everything from the types of Grimm they might encounter in the field, to the land's topography and water content. Weiss was prepared for every possible factor that might affect their mission, allowing for her and Ruby to bond over late night hours of discussing plans for the mission that lay ahead. Stepping into the unknown like this, both figuratively speaking and otherwise, must be causing Weiss to be nervous at the lack of preparation on her end.

Ruby reached out to lace her fingers with the Weiss' own, giving the slender digits a light squeeze of reassurance. "We'll be alright because we have each other's backs. No matter what happens, we'll take care of each other. Besides, since most of Team HART will be joining us, we can always ask them about their experiences."

Weiss took a deep breath. "You're right, Ruby. We'll be okay as long as we have each other."

"Awww!" Ruby squealed as her eyes seemed to glitter in affection. "See, you are my BFF!"

"No!" Weiss ripped her hand away with a loud sniff and thrust her chin up in the air in a feigned act of indifference.

"Yes…" Ruby turned to wink at her sister who was watching them with a shit-eating grin.

The young leader seemed to remember herself as she heard someone clear their throat loudly to regain her attention. "Right, sorry. Haruka, looks like my team is good to go if you are."

"Emotional goodbye time?" Titus asked, slipping into his subtle accent as he bounded up to wrap Aloy into a strong hug.

The older girl got the wind knocked out of her by the action, but quickly recovered. She reached out to ruffle his blonde hair, chuckling as the boy didn't seem to mind her display of affection for once. "Yeah, be careful out there Titus. And try not to get into trouble, you don't have Zyun or I to help you get out of it so easily anymore."

Titus rolled his eyes, but managed to let go of the taller girl. "No promises, Aloy."

After shaking hands with the Traverse Town residents in the room, Ryu stepped forward to grasp forearms with the blue tunic clad fighter. "I'll look after him."

"You always do." Aloy smiled in her thanks. "I will miss you, my friend."

"And I, you." Ryu replied, neither warrior willing to let go first as they locked eyes. After a few seconds of silence, Ryu nodded his head once, seeming to understand whatever silent conversation that was held between them. He let go of the steely eyed woman, his serious expression slipping into a rare smile.

Both Ryu and Titus stepped back to give their leader room as the women stood only a foot apart. The keys and chains on Haruka's half-cape rattled as she reached up to lay her palm on Aloy's cheek. "It pains me greatly to leave you behind."

Aloy reached out to wrap her arms around her partner's waist, effective drawing them together in a tight embrace. Closing her eyes, Aloy gently pushed forward until their breaths mingled in the same air, their foreheads lightly touching. "Not as much as it hurts me to see you go."

Haruka closed her eyes and smiled wistfully at the soft embrace. The shorter brunette lifted her free hand so that she tenderly cupped Aloy's face.

When Aloy next spoke, her whispered voice was so low it could barely be heard by those nearest to the embracing women. "Come back to me."

"Always." Haruka replied in the same lowered tones.

Ruby and her friends glanced away from the tender scene before them, feeling rude to pry into such an intimate moment between partners. The young leader felt a faint blush bloom up her neck and across her cheeks as she realized her fingertips were slightly bushing up against her own partner's, the grazing digits having wandered on their own accord. She quickly snatched her hand away so as to not cause a scene with the Heiress.

Having their moment to themselves, Haruka finally pulled away from her partner and turned to face the Traverse Town residents. "Alright then, goodbye everyone. Please remember to keep in touch if you learn anything important. We'll do the same for you if we learn anything new."

She turned to face her tallest friend, gesturing to the empty space that rested beside the double mahogany doors that led to Disney Castle. "Ryu, if you would do the honors."

The young man nodded as he withdrew his Keyblade once more and sliced at the chosen space before him. The air seemed to shimmer and become distorted as giant golden double doors reaching up to almost the ceiling appeared, flanked by two marble pillars. Ruby could make out the etching of matching mirrored lightning bolts on each golden surface, before Ryu held the doors open.

A brilliant bright light shone through the other side, Ruby having to cover her eyes from the sunlight that emitted through the gateway. One-by-one the young leader watched the Keybalde users enter the doorway into the light quickly followed by her friends, leaving only Ryu and herself to make up the rear to their party. After feeling a gentle pressure on her back from Ryu's steady hand to steer her towards the others, Ruby was ushered through the open gateway and into the unknown.

[-][-][-]

Five people stood huddled around a circular table, each person cast in shadows. Their features were barely distinguishable in the eerie red and yellow light that emitted from the Grimm that floated on the center of the table before them.

The creature was one that they recognized on their world as a Seer, the orbed shaped Grimm having long tentacle-like limbs that ended in sharp points that twitched and writhed where it stood floating before them. Unlike the usual depictions of this type of Grimm, this Seer had the symbol of the Heartless on its side.

A woman with long black hair and sharp amber eyes scanned the image that could be seen glowing from within the Heartless' orbed depths. The four young girls seen reflected within the creature were known to the members around the table by many names – but the most important of these were Team RWBY.

The raven-haired woman's attention was drawn away from the Seer Heartless by a tall man in a brilliant white long-coat, his bright ginger hair covered by a black and red bowler hat.

"Looks like Little Red and her friends have access to the Keyblades. That certainly throws a wrench into our plans." The man took a deep drag on a lit cigar, before snuffing the tobacco out on the black walnut table's surface.

The amber-eyed woman felt her eyebrow twitch in annoyance at the man's lack of manners. "I would not worry that pretty little head of yours, Torchwick. Their call to the light was not unforeseen."

The man known as Torchwick waved off the woman's words with a mocking gesture. "Yeah, yeah, yeah… This was all foretold by the Seeker, or some bullshit. You're placing a lot of trust in the word of an enemy, Cinder dearest."

Cinder's eyes narrowed at the term of endearment. "Silence, you idiot. And calm down your little pet-project, I don't want the girl to get her panties in a twist."

"Don't talk to Neo like that!" Torchwick spat, his grip tightening on his signature cane. "At least I brought my partner with me. I see you left the baddie wannabees behind. Or did they not make the trip out of Beacon?"

Cinder waved off the man's anger. "My disciples shall serve their purpose when they are needed."

"Why did you gather us all here anyway, besides wasting our time?" The question was asked by a slender boy with spiked auburn hair with streaks of light brown strands jutting out around small bent horns. He adjusted the glowing white face mask that rested over his eyes, marking him as one of the members of the notorious terrorist Faunus organization, the White Fang.

Cinder raised a hand to pacify the angered young man. "I didn't gather you here, Adam Taurus. You were all chosen by the very essence of darkness itself."

Torchwick scoffed, spinning his cane in annoyance. "Oh _really?!_ You don't say? I had _no idea…_ I thought we had all suddenly gotten matching friendship tattoos." Torchwick's voice was laced with sarcasm as he gestured to the glowing red and black Heartless symbols that had appeared across everyone's chests that stood at the round table. All, with the exception of Neo, who was inexplicably not marked by the tell-tale symbol of darkness.

"I would not scoff at the blessings She has chosen to befall on us. While there are those out across the worlds that have been blessed with these gifts, we alone outnumber them all if we work together. Fate has led us to the demise of Remnant, and we have been chosen to use our gifted powers to usher in a new world of our own making." Cinder explained as she gestured around her with a flourish.

"Well, I find this whole thing entirely barbaric." Announced another older man, his face hidden in shadow, but there was no mistaking the snow white groomed hair and mustache with piercing cold blue eyes that made his name known to all.

Cinder smiled in spite of the man's annoyance. "Jacques… Surely you can see why this endeavor can appeal to you? You are one of the most powerful, cutthroat businessmen of all of Remnant. And while our world may be no more, you are now placed with one of the best business deals of all – the power to change everything to what you want. The possibility to create a universe, where your name will be known across all the worlds." Cinder clutched her hand as her eyes gleamed with a manic glint. "True power."

The older man narrowed his eyes in anger at the woman's madness. "A world which you help single-highhandedly destroy. All my hard work… My company, my status, all that power gone. And for what?! A few tricks of dark magic and petty revenge?"

The blood red sleeves of Cinder's dress glowed bright orange before a long obsidian blade formed in her palm. The black glass weapon shone in the dim glow of the Grimm's light that was still floating on the center of the table. "Remember your place, Schnee. The only reason you're here to begin with is that you've been chosen as a successor for the new age – one of the many masters of Heartless."

Cinder lowered the black dagger so that it rested next to her hand while still keeping the obsidian blade within eyesight. She glanced away from the lethal weapon to address her cohort, deep amber eyes burning as they flashed with a malicious glint. "It is important not to lose sight of what drives us."

"Love."

Adam seemed to ignore Cinder as he removed Wilt from its sheath and wiped the red blade with a scrap of black cloth. The slow menstruation of his labored work caused the polished blood red metal to shine even in the darkness.

"Justice."

Torchwick lazily spun his black bowler hat on one gloved finger, flashing a charming grin at his silent partner in crime. Neo shared in his smirk as she turned back to face Cinder in her monologue.

"Reverence."

Jacques looked away from Cinder as she spoke, his cold blue eyes trained on the silver snowflake cufflinks his fingers adjusted until they were once again symmetrical on his white dress suit.

Cinder narrowed her eyes as her voice laced with authority, the change in tone catching the attention of everyone in the room. "But let me be clear… The moment you put your desires before _Her_ own, they will be lost to you. This isn't a threat. This is simply the truth. Do I make myself clear, Schnee?"

Jacques shifted his eyes around the room, refusing to meet the other woman's burning gaze. "Yes, of course."

Cinder relaxed her position as she gestured with a hand towards the former CEO of the Schnee Dust Company. "But more importantly, you have a direct link to one of the chosen four."

Jacques met Cinder's stare at last with a scoff. "I don't think that will make any difference. My youngest daughter has recently become… Well, more _defiant_ than before. I'm not sure if this influence is due to her time at Beacon or because of her sister, Winter. But the change has indeed started."

Cinder narrowed her eyes as she listened to the scorned father of the ivory-haired Huntress. "What matters is that there is darkness in her heart, and if we can exploit that, then all the better for us."

Torchwick moved his feathered hat back to rest upon his brow. The wanted criminal frowned deeply as he glanced at his frantically gesturing partner. "Neo's right… The Ice Queen has been chosen by the Keyblade, surely it's too late?"

"A Keyblade only reflects the light or darkness in their master's heart. If the host is corrupted, the Keyblade will be too – thus allowing us to have control over one of the Keyblades. For our plan to succeed, everyone will have to do their part." Cinder explained as she laced her fingers together, her eyes training on the white and red haired duo.

Adam sheathed his sword and placed the polishing cloth back into a pocket sown on the inside his black jacket. "I don't care what you have to say, I am not working with a Schnee!"

Jacques rolled his eyes at the Faunus' outburst. "Why should I care about what you think, you filthy Faunus peasant!"

Adam gripped the hilt of Wilt, the blade glinting in the low lighting as it was partially pulled from its sheath. "I will cut out your pompous tongue, slave owner!"

"Quiet, you fools!" Cinder yelled, gesturing with her hand at the arguing men. As if heeding her command, the Seer Heartless attacked Adam and Jacques with its flailing limbs, the grotesque tentacles wrapping around their throats. Both men began spluttering and wheezing for air as the Heartless Grimm silently choked them until Cinder released the Heartless with a lazy flick of her hand.

"That's _much_ better…" Cinder smirked as both men grabbed at their bruised throats, gasping for breath; the older man having been forced to his knees from the assault. "Gentlemen, lady – We are entering a new era, one that will decide the fate of all the worlds. I don't know about you, but I would rather be the ones to rule the worlds then to be lost to history. In order to assure our victory, we will need to work together… Then you can go back to hating each other. But not until we can claim destiny as our own."

Torchwick shot the dark-haired woman an exasperated look. "And how do we do that?"

Cinder grinned. "Make them fall apart from the inside. Turn them against each other; make them question who to trust. And then take out their most valuable players. The duel Keyblade wielder is already out of the way, she won't be a nuance anymore. With the Seeker in our possession, only the Seer provides an issue."

"What about the new girls – Team RWBY?" Jacques asked, straightening his suit jacket, the man finally having risen from the ground after gaining his breath.

Torchwick gestured at the former CEO. "Like I said, Little Red and her merry band of friends have already placed a damper on the situation."

Cinder waved off their concerns. "Together they pose a serious threat, but divided they can fall. And fall they will."

"The Belladonna girl is mine." Adam stated as he reached out with a clutched fist, as if asking for a challenger to his claim.

Cinder nodded to the White Fang member. "Then I'll leave her fate to you. Do not disappoint me. I'll send my disciples to take out the rest of the original Keyblade users. Jacques, I'll leave the Heiress to you." Cinder took the small obsidian blade that lay resting on the wooden table and spun the weapon between her slender fingers. "Your daughter has a quite the prominent role to play yet. She may be of use to us if we play our cards right."

"And if my daughter continues to be an issue?" Jacques asked as he adjusted a bright red silk handkerchief that rested in his jacket breast pocket until it was perfectly fussed.

Cinder smirked at the superfluous question. "Then you will do what is necessary to eliminate the threat. Whatever it takes."

Torchwick rubbed his gloved hands together in glee as he glanced at the stern, but accepting expression worn by the withered CEO. "Looks like the Ice Queen is in for a nasty surprise. That will be sure to throw Little Red and her friends for a spin. As for us, Neo here says that she wants to take a crack at Blondie again, if the opportunity presents itself."

Cinder smirked at the organized criminal's enthusiasm. "Patience, the two of you. You will have the stage all to yourself for such a task… Our fate has yet to be written in stone, if we work together then Her plans will come to light."

"And where does that leave you?" Jacques inquired as he raised a hand toward the undisputed leader.

Cinder continued to spin her blade between her fingers as her eyes narrowed on the image of Ruby's smiling face found in the depths of the Seer's orbed translucent surface. With a flick of her wrist, the obsidian dagger was thrown to a quivering stop in the table's wooden surface. The blade rested directly in front of the Seer's image of Ruby Rose's eyes, shining with a glint of happiness that had not yet been crushed from her more innocent soul.

"I get the pleasure of killing the Silver-Eyed Warrior."


End file.
